Southern Sun
by AmericanHero36
Summary: The American Southern Railway Alco #645 named Casey has been purchased for work on the Northwestern Railway on the Island of Sodor, join me as we look into his new life while he makes new friends and hear the stories from his operational days from 1905 to 1952, and his life during the excursion era
1. Chapter 1: New Home

On the lines of Brendan Docks on the Island of Sodor stood a newly imported steam locomotive. He was an Alco 2-8-0 Ks-1 class locomotive who was built in 1905. His freshly polished Virginia Green paint and glossy silver smoke box glistened brightly in the sun with his golden "645" painted on the side of his cab and tender. He seemed uneasy; it had been years since he was called in to do actual work in a railway. Over the past sixty years he has been pulling and pushing excursion and tourism trains in Tennessee and other states around the Southeastern United States. He looked around, there wasn't another engine to be seen. There were three sets of tracks, the far right was where he rested, the middle was clear, and so was the far left set of tracks.

"Uh…hello?" he called out, hoping to find another engine, eventually, on the far left track, one came. It was a crimson diesel with an elevated cab in the middle and six wheels in total. He seemed rough, yet kind, maybe even fun.

"Oh hoo, so you must be the new American Steamer, aye?" the diesel asked with a sailor's tune.

"Yes sir, I reckon I am" the Ex-Southern Railway steamer replied with a deep Appalachian accent that wasn't slurred despite the fact that he was nervous. The diesel beamed.

"Aye it be a pleasure in meet'n ya me harty, name's Salty" he said cheerfully.

"Stewart, but everyone calls me Casey" replied the steamer with a much more confident that before. This diesel was just as friendly as the modern Norfolk Southern and CSX ones he met back in the States.

"Casey, that would be a nice name for ya… so you're wait'n for the Fat Controller eh? Well ye might want ta sit tight, driver got a message from him to tell you he's going to be late, someth'n about his car breaking down and having trouble finding a train" Salty replied. This news relieved Casey, for a moment he was beginning to think that he was forgotten about.

"Is he often late?" he asked.

"Not really but it does happen. But in the meantime, I can show ya around and get you to where you can be filled with coal and water" Salty answered. But before Casey could answer, an engine that was smaller than him raced in, he was a British 2-6-0 with a gold dome, black wheels, and a super shiny red coat of paint along with a face that screamed the fact that he needed a drink. He had been carrying a long freight train and the cars were being silly and noisy.

"Ahoy James, I be wondering when you were gonna get here" Salty said in his sailor way.

"Oh give me a break Salty, I got delayed, and I had to pick up Sir Topham Hat on the way" James replied crossly.

"Thank you James, go get yourself some water and then you can rest for your next train this evening" came a voice from his cab. The man stepped down onto the ground as James was uncoupled, the gentleman was stout, and really quite round. He had a suit that was heavily covered in coal dust and an old fashioned top hat, which made Casey chuckle to himself, he hadn't seen a top hat in years, it was almost as if he was right back in World War 1 era Chattanooga, Tennessee, the city of which he was restored into working order along with his older sister, Cassidy, which could explain why people called him Casey, in his smoke stack, but his engineer told him many times of the real reason. He was nicknamed after the legendary engineer Casey Jones. Presently, the stout gentleman looked over at him and quickly stopped James before he could puff away.

"James, this is the new American steam engine, his name is Stewart. Would you mind bringing him to the water tower with you while Salty takes your cars to their proper spots around the docks?" he asked. James looked over at Casey and inspected him, the big green engine didn't have buffers in the front nor did he have a chain coupling like the one he had, however he did see a pair of temporary buffers on the back of his tender so all James had to do was push him.

"Yes sir" he said, and then he puffed on ahead to find some switches to allow him to get behind Casey. When he came back the cars were gone and so was Salty. The Fat Controller had told Casey that another engine will come later to show him around before taking him to the steam works to have his coupling system changed along with adding a pair of permanent buffers at the back of his tender. James moved up behind Casey and pushed him towards the water tower. He was quiet the entire way, Casey was not sure what to say to this engine, except for this.

"You can go first if you would like, I'm in no hurry" he said.

"Thank you Stewart" James replied, he was relieved that Casey was nice enough to let him, he wasn't sure if had enough steam to be able to push Casey out of the way if he went first. He pushed Casey past the water tower and moved under it himself. As James' tender was filled with water, workman came to fill up Casey's tender with coal when they all had finished, they hooked up Casey's temporary buffers to James' buffers with chains and puffing hard, James managed to pull Casey under the water tower for water. When the water levels reached half way, Casey's fire was lit to help shorten the steam building time. Doing it this way proved beneficiary to Casey, he made lots of steam.

"Thanks for helping James" he said cheerfully.

"It was nothing at all Stewart" James replied, then Casey spoke up quickly again.

"You can call me Casey"

"Alright Casey, I'll chat with you later, right now I must rest a bit so that I can pull an important passenger train and show them my shiny paint" replied James and he chuffed away. Now Casey was alone again, but not for long, the Fat Controller returned to see him.

"How are you Stewart? I hope it's not too big of a change for you" he said.

"Right now, everything seems the same, minus the buffers so I can't complain. And if it is okay with you sir, I prefer Casey" replied the engine.

"Very well then Casey, now you just sit tight, Duck will be here to show you around the railway as you head for the steam works to have permanent buffers attached to your tender" the Controller said. Casey was delighted, this stout gentleman seemed friendly enough, a lot nicer than his previous railway controller back in the 1950's and 60's when the diesels took over American lines. Casey would always call that man "Boiler Sludge" behind his back until he was replaced by an F7 diesel with a bad attitude. The afternoon sun was slowly beginning to become an evening sun as the time ticked off until a British Great Western 0-6-0 tank engine rolled in, he looked kind of box shaped with a tall smoke stack, and a more olive green compared to Casey's Virginia green.

"Ah, Duck, there you are, where have you been?" Sir Topham Hat asked.

"Beg pardon sir, but the line I was on was blocked for quite some time, and none of the other lines were clear at that point in time" answered the engine.

"Very well then, you must take Casey here to the steam works to have his coupling changed and buffers fitted" replied Sir Topham Hat replied. Duck looked over to his right to examine the new American steamer and he smiled.

"Hello Casey, I'm Duck, and I shall be your guide of the line today. Now if you can follow me, I'll show you the line, the Great Western way" smiled the engine. Casey smile in return, and with a pair of whistle blows each, the two locomotives steamed away. For the next hour, Duck showed Casey everything there was to see while traveling to the steam works, chatting with each other about the lines and what to expect on the Island of Sodor. When they reached three-fourths of the way there, a streak of silver zoomed past them, and made some of Casey's coal fly up and land on his boiler, creating dings and even a small dent.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" shouted Casey, but that streak was already gone.

"Don't worry Casey, your boiler will be fixed when you get to the steam works. But in case you're wondering who that was, that was Spencer, he is so boastful and so full of himself, he makes James and Gordon look humble" Duck told him. Casey laughed.

"Well, maybe all he needs is a visit from a crabby hundred year old engine"

Duck couldn't keep himself from laughing along with him as they puffed on ahead.

When they arrived, they saw a massive, clean, and bustling with workers warehouse, when they went inside, a narrow gauge 0-4-0T tank engine rolled up beside a turn table that rested inside the building.

"Ah Duck, it's great to see you, what can I do for you?" he asked with a Cuban voice that Casey was not ready for, he was surprised to see someone who didn't have a British accent, or even Scottish on this island.

"I was just showing Casey here around while taking him to you to have him fitted with buffers and change his coupling system Victor" replied Duck.

"Excellent, I was beginning to wonder when he was going to get…" Victor started before there was a loud crash, he took his attention off of the two engines to notice the small 4-wheeled crane had dropped something. The design of him was most peculiar, four wheels with the back 2 being closer together than the front, giving the illusion that he had three wheels.

"Kevin, how many times must I tell you? Slowly, gently" said Victor rather sternly.

"Sorry boss, just a slip of the hook" was Kevin's youthful reply

"Maybe you should put some glue on that there hook of yours" Casey joked, it managed to get a few laughs until it was time for Duck to head back to Tidmouth shed. When he left, Casey asked Victor if he could keep the buffers off the front.

"If you can gauge the distance between chain couplings, I don't see why not" Victor replied kindly. Casey said thank you as he rolled onto a particular part of the works where his knuckle couplings were taken off in favor of chain links and a pair of buffers were painted to match his paint and attached to the back of his tender. When the work was completed, two days had already passed. He rolled out with his freshly wiped paint shining brightly in the sun, he found Sir Topham Hat waiting for him with James.

"Good morning Casey, I see you didn't want the buffers up front" he said.

"Nothing personal sir, but I just didn't want to lose the cow catcher after a hundred years with it" Casey replied. The fat controller smiled and nodded, he understood how American locomotives felt when one put buffers on the front: silly looking.

"Now listen carefully, you still need to learn some of the line, Duck told me he could only explain the line you two went on, on the way here from the docks, so while he's carrying out his work, James will show you the main line between Tidmouth shed, Knapfford Station, the Earl of Sodor's estate, and back to Bendam Docks. When you reach the docks you must help him pull a heavy freight train to the diesel works. I will await for you there with further instructions if all goes according to plan" he explained.

"Sounds like a plan" Casey replied, and with that, the fat controller drove away in an old blue sedan. Talk about a flashback, Casey hasn't seen that era of vehicle since the early fifties before he was retired the first time.

"Alright Casey, let's get this show and tell moving, we haven't got all day" exclaimed James importantly, he was excited that today it was his turn to show the new engine around the lines.

"My, my, aren't we the excited type?" Casey joked. And with a couple of laughs they set off to Tidmouth Shed.


	2. Chapter 2: Trip Around the Island

When James and Casey reached Tidmouth Shed they found the fact that it was empty minus a couple of smaller engines. One was just smaller than James, but he looked older, wiser, and blue, the other one, a smart little green tank engine with four wheels. James wasn't expecting the blue one to still be at the sheds.

"What are you doing here Edward? Shouldn't you be at your station by now?" he asked.

"My driver's is so ill he can't even get out of bed. Sir Topham Hat went to go find another engine since you are out showing the new engine around" was Edward's reply.

"I got in trouble yesterday, so I have to stay in the shed" spoke up the green engine.

"I knew that one Percy, you told us about it last night" James snorted.

"I wasn't talking to you Bossy Boiler, I was talking to the engine behind you" Percy replied. James had forgotten about Casey when he saw Edward so he just realized that he had embarrassed himself in front of the big Southern.

"Oh yeah, guys, this is Casey, the new engine" James announced. The engines in the shed were impressed; they've seen American engines before but not really like Casey.

"I guess you've already heard James announce our names to the whole world" Edward asked.

"Yep, he did, and a good morni'n to you too" Casey replied cheerfully.

"Thank you" the two engines replied. James gestured for them to get moving to the next spot, they said their goodbyes and with a long blast of his Crosby 3-Chime whistle, Casey followed James out of the yard. From there they made their way to Knapfurd Station to pick up James' first train of the day, a passenger train to the Earl of Sodor's estate, otherwise known as Ulfstead Castle. There was a short debate over who should lead, but the final argument was that James knew the line so it would be no point in Casey leading. So they decided to let James pull the train while Casey follow a good bit behind so that he could still look at the line James takes. Soon after they set off with no troubles what so ever, on the way, Casey whistled to any engine that passed by.

_He certainly is a friendly sort._ James thought to himself. He tried early on to explain points of the rails but Casey had a hard time hearing him being so far behind, so he stopped trying was quiet until he got to the estate, where a man was standing on the platform waiting excitedly for them.

"Oh, excellent, right on time as usual James" he said.

"Thank you sir, I wouldn't be keeping my red paint if I wasn't" James replied as Casey rolled up beside him on the other side of the platform.

"Oh, and you must be the new engine on the island" the man exclaimed excitedly. He ran across the platform to inspect Casey.

"I'm Casey" he said, unsure of what else to say.

"Splendid to meet you, I am Sir Robert Norramby, Earl of Sodor" the man said.

"Charmed" replied Casey. James took the time to uncouple himself and turned around on the turntable while Norramby walked all around Casey, talking to his engineer and fireman along the way. A few minutes later, James rolled back on another line and spoke up.

"I hate to break up the party, but I have the important job of showing Casey around while I work today, and we have a tight schedule" he said.

"Oh of course, don't let an old eccentric like me stop you. But how about I join you?" he replied.

"Pardon me for ask'n this sir, but what about your guests? Aren't they going to notice that their host is gone?" Casey asked.

"Oh pish posh my boy, they're not here for me anyway, look, they've already gone to the castle. And I believe you're supposed to be back here to pick them up and take them back to Knappford" Norramby answered as he climbed into Casey's cab with his crew. Casey looked to James to ask what he should say in reply, but James quietly cut him off with a smile.

"Never say no to the earl" he said in a taunting manner. Casey signed and pulled into the turntable and was turned around. After that he pulled up behind James who was already starting to move down the hill. Of course the rest of the way was James explaining the line all the way to the docks and Sir Norramby looking around the cab asking the engineer all about Casey.

_He'll know more about me than I will at some point._ Casey thought as they pulled into the docks. When they got there, a new voice spoke up.

"My my James, are you seriously getting help to pull a ten car train for the diesels?"

"Oh shut up Spencer, Casey's here because I was asked to show him around" James snorted. Casey looked ahead to find a silver A-4 steam locomotive on another line.

"So YOU'RE the Spencer I've been hear'n about and gett'n dented by" he said angrily.

"And YOU must be the new yankee engine I've been hearing about. You don't look like you can tow 40 cars in one trip" Spencer countered as he moved up right to Casey's front right corner. This pissed Casey off to no ends, being former SOUTHERN railway he hates being called yankee. He wanted to blow steam at him, but his engineer wouldn't let him, so all he could do was glair.

"Don't you have something better to do than to sit around being useless?" James asked smartly. Now it was Spencer's turn to be pissed. He chuffed away, grumbling deadfully while Casey laughed.

"I gotta remember that one" he said.

"Indeed" James laughed. He went on to get hooked up to the train when Casey offered to pull it for him. James was about to say "no thank you" but then Norramby called it out to be an excellent idea, an excellent opportunity for him to show his strength. James reluctantly moves aside so that Casey could get hooked up. There were three flatbeds, four box cars, and three normal open top trucks full of crates.

"Careful Casey, the cars are trouble" James warned.

"Can't be as bad as the coaches that I used to work until I was retired, them suckers were downright evil" Casey replied. He did acknowledge James' warning though. Before he left he began to sing a popular country song and with his deep southern voice he managed to pull it off. The cars behaved out of aw and admiration of how good Casey sounded sung, some of them even tried to mimic it with little to no success. James followed close behind the train in case of trouble, except there was no trouble the entire trip. Casey kept singing different country songs and the cars behaved because of it. Eventually they made it to the diesel works, and were greeted by a Metropolitans Vickers BR class 28 diesel that looked like a green Swiss cake roll to Casey's driver.

"Why hello there" he said warmly. Casey greeted back as James pulled up beside them.

"Hello BoCo, you look as cheerful as my paint today" he said. Casey rolled his eyes with a smile. He didn't mind how high and mighty James was, he knew other engines who were like that.

"Good afternoon James, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend here?" BoCo asked.

"I'm Casey, the new engine"

"Pleased to meet you, I see you have our cars, and we've all noticed your singing voice. Very nice" BoCo replied. Casey thanked him as other diesels rolled in to take the cars to their proper places. One diesel was a Drewry BR Class 04, 0-6-0 quarry diesel who seemed to act a lot like Stacy, a diesel who was taken off the excursion for the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in '1997 and is now awaiting her chance for a complete overhaul, very kind and respectful to steam locomotives. The other diesel was a British Railway Class 08 0-6-0 named Paxton, a simple minded fellow, but very likeable as far as Casey was concerned. After a little while, the train was taken and sorted out properly, James and Casey were about to leave when yet another diesel pulled up next to Casey. This one was the exact same type as Paxton, except this one was painted pitch black. This diesel looked at Casey with a sneer.

"Why should Sir your worthy Sir Topham Hat acquire another old fashioned steam engine when we diesels can do anything you do better?" he asked with an oily voice. James was about to say something to argue, but Casey stopped him.

"Think of it this way, if it weren't for us "Old Fashioned Steam Engines" your internal combustion engine would have been delayed another hundred or so years and you wouldn't be here ask'n me such a rude question" he replied calmly. The diesel was surprised, he was not expecting an answer so thought provoking, much less a calm response from an old steamer. He didn't answer, he just rolled away with some minor grumbling, but nothing majorly immature.

"I say old boy that was quite insightful" said Sir Norramby, who had been listening from the cab the whole time.

"Oh that's noth'n, you should have met my engineer from when I was retired, he was the wisest man to ever set foot in a cab" Casey replied modestly. James said nothing, he too was not expecting such an answer.

._Maybe I should use that answer next time a diesel insults me._ he thought, and he moved ahead back to Ulfstead Castle with Casey following close behind. When they arrived, about a hundred historians and railroad enthusiasts gathered at the platform to take their final sunset pictures of James and Casey. Obviously James became jealous when they spent most of their time taking pictures of Casey instead of him, he saw one man with a big high definition camera about to take a picture of Casey and blew his whistle loudly, and suddenly, the man jumped, launching his camera right in the air and back on the ground with a crash…the camera was ruined beyond repair.

"Oops, uh, sorry" James said sheepishly. The camera man blew up on him, raving and ranting about how expensive that camera was and other things until it was time for them to leave. The relief for James was short lived on their way home when he asked Casey to not tell Sir Topham Hat about what had happened.

"I won't say anything if he doesn't bring it up. But with him be'n the man I hear him to be, he's gonna find out on his own" Casey answered, and then there was silence, but it was brief.

"Casey, I must ask, how come Spencer pissed you off, but not Diesel?" James asked.

"Spencer called me a Yankee, and Diesel's question wasn't as bad as the insults and name calling that I went through before I was retired the first time" Casey answered. James found this confusing, he thought all Americans were fine with being called "yankee", it was an identity many foreign engines either loved, or feared.

"I don't think I follow" he said.

"Well, as you might have figured out already, I'm Southern railway, and being called yank is not exactly a compliment around the southeastern U.S. it's a cultural thing that dates back to the Civil War, the north kept the yankee name while the south went with Johnny Rebs. You'd be surprised of how many people still honor and respect Johnny Rebs of old but not Billy Yanks. It's not that they agree with ideas and morals of the time, it's just a matter of respect" Casey explained.

"Okay, I believe I have a general idea about what you are taling about" James replied, and then a few minutes later, he spoke again.

"So what kind of adventures have you had in your time of service?" Casey was silent for a moment, there were so many stories and strange things he has seen and done in the past hundred or so years.

"Tell ya what, why don't you go deliver your train and I'll head to the shed to give me time to put my stories together. I'll tell you everyth'n that answers that very question when you get back, that a deal?" he asked.

"Deal" James replied, and he picked up speed to make it back to Knappford Station early and hopefully make it back to Tidmouth before the Fat Controller could get on his case for the camera incident.


	3. Chapter 3: Humble Beginnings

When Casey returned to Tidmouth Sheds, he found there was a big welcome party waiting for him. Duck, Percy, Edward, along with many other engines were there whistling cheerfully for Casey's arrival.

"Welcome to Sodor!" exclaimed Sir Topham Hat who was standing on top of Duck's water tank in the center of the shed. Casey didn't know what to say, it had been years since he was greeted this way by engines. Finally, he calmed down and smiled.

"Well ain't this a nice surprise" he laughed. There were eight engines in front of him There was Edward, Duck, and Percy obviously, and then there was a brown tram engine next to Duck who did look very old indeed, then there was a small blue tank engine next to Percy who had a 0-6-0 arrangement, and next to him was another green steamer, this one had a 4-6-0 arrangement, next to him was a engine similar but this was a 4-6-2, blue, and he seemed quite dignified despite looking like a big blue sausage. Next to the blue sausage was a big black WW2 era Japanese 2-8-2 Mikado with a name plate on the side that read "Hiro". Sir Topham Hat took the time to introduce them in this order. Toby was the tram engine, Thomas was the engine next to Percy, Henry was the one next to Thomas, and next to him were Gordon and Hiro. There was an empty shed room and Casey figured it was James', who quickly rolled in panting.

"Ah there you are Mr. Camera Breaker" the fat controller announced. James looked at Casey about to accuse him of telling him in front of the entire group.

"Don't look at me, I didn't say anything" Casey said quickly.

"Sir Norramby called and told me all about it when you two left his estate at the castle" added Sir Topham Hat.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow, but for now. Casey, how do you like Sodor so far?"

"Well, it's different than home I can tell ya, I never expected to see so many friendly faces around a small island like this" Casey replied.

"I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say we are delighted to finally meet you" replied Sir Topham Hat.

"The pleasure is mine" replied Casey.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Casey, is it true that you were heavily involved in both world wars?" asked Thomas.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't" answered Casey, and then he began to tell his story.

-

_Alexandria, Virginia:  
November 1, 1905_

A brand new Alco 2-8-0 Ks-1 class steam locomotive was being towed on a flatbed into the famous Potomac rail yard. He had a black paint job on him with gold lettering, bright yellow lettering, and his label was covered by white strips of paper, he looked all around and he saw many trains from many different railroads he was both awestruck and nervous at the same time, until it occurred to him that while he was moving he was moving. He tried to look around to find what was holding him in place but he couldn't simply look backwards, but he did look down to find a small Class A 0-4-4 tank engine towing his flatbed backwards. He had black livery with a silver smoke box, on the side of the cab he had a Southern Railway logo and he was numbered 1509. The little engine looked up to find the new Alco was awake.

"Oh good, you're awake" the engine said. Casey was quiet, he didn't know what to say. The tanker spoke again.

"Oh don't worry, every new engine is unsure about things. I believe you are scared, unsure, and probably curious about what you are"

"Y-yes" replied the Alco in his southern Voice.

"Oh ho, I think I know which railway you're going to be working for" laughed the small porter. The Alco looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, you young one, are a steam locomotive, you pull these cars that surround us from one place to another in what's known as trains" continued the porter.

"Okay, I think I get what you are saying there but what did you mean by 'Know'n which railway I'll be work'n for'?" asked the Alco.

"Of course, how silly of me, a railway is the company that owns a group of tracks like the ones below us in different parts of the country. That's the land area of which we all live, and right now, our country is contemplating going to war" answered the porter.

"War? I think I've heard about it while I was at that place before being placed on this here thing" replied the Alco as he gestured with his eyes to point out the flat bed, he then continued.

"Is it when a group of people fight another group of people over time?"

"My, my, what a smart locomotive we have here? I'm Martin by the way" announced the porter.

"Nice to meet you Martin…uh, what in tarnation is my name?" asked the Alco.

"Goodness, I did not even think about that, um…hmm…how does, Stewart, sound?"

"I'll take it" was the reply.

"Very well then Stewart, it is a pleasure to meet you. Now, onto the matter of introducing you to the others, what will happen is there will be one engine from each railroad that uses this very rail yard. It's an old tradition of ours, when we reach the main turn table, the owner of the yard will introduce you and reveal which railway you will work for. Judging by your voice I believe you will be Southern Railway, but I have been wrong before" explained Martin.

-

_Sodor, 2013_

"Wait a minute, I thought your name is Casey" interrupted Percy.

"My real name is indeed Stewart; I got the nickname Casey a lot later" replied the green Alco

"Please, continue with the story" the eager Hiro asked.

-

_1905_

"Okay…will I like the railway?" Stewart asked.

"In my time of service, I have learned to never assume anything. I do not know if you will or not. I have seen engines going to their railways believing they will hate their line and they now love it, and vise versa. Only time will tell" Martin answered. The two were quiet until it was time for cranes to lift Stewart and place him on the rails. Obviously he was scared silly until he was laid on the rails, at that point he was excited, he wanted to get going to see who he will work for, but he found that he couldn't. Martin laughed to himself.

"You can't go anywhere without your engineer or fireman. And after they come you gotta have a fire started and water boiled into steam" he explained. Stewart was disappointed until a firelighter came and got his fire started and his tender filled with coal and water. Eventually he had his steam built up and two men came to see him. One was light skinned brown hair and tall, the other was also light skinned but he was short but obviously in better shape than the other.

"Are, you my engineer and fireman?" Stewart asked. The men laughed.

"Yep, I'm John and this is indeed your fireman Matthew" said the tall man.

"I'm Stewart" replied the engine excitedly.

"Very well then Stewart, let's get you to the turn table to find out which railway you will work for. We already know, but nobody else knows" suggested John as he and Matthew climbed into the cab and got Stewart moving under his own power, Martin followed close behind until he stopped at a small building to pick up the controller of the yard. Casey pulled up to a turn table and every track that wasn't his was occupied by an engine from a different railway; There was one from the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central, one from Baltimore and Ohio, Chesapeake and Ohio, Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, Fredrickson and Potomatic Railroad, and right next to Stewart's line was a black locomotive who looked almost exactly like him, except this one was female, and her number was 630, this ole ran on the Southern Railway. All of the engines were arguing over who was going to get the new engine, particularly the Penn Central and the New York Central engines between each other. All became quiet when Casey moved onto the turntable, and Martin pulled up behind him with the controller. The controller walked onto the front of Casey and spoke formally.

"Ladies and gentletrains, lend me your ears if you have any, on this day I will give the surprise of who has the privilege of taking Stewart here home" he said. All the engines blew their whistles in cheer before they were all silenced again by a group of people came to get started with the removal of the white masking paper.

"And now, the moment you have all been waiting for…" the controller said and the men pulled off the covers to reveal a yellow Southern number 645 on his tender and cab. Most of the engines cheered while they were disappointed, one cheered with joy, it was the Southern locomotive that looked like him.

"Sorry boys, but Stewart's comi'n down to Dixie with me!" she exclaimed with a southern teenager voice as Casey was turned around to face her, she was very pretty, with green eyes.

"Hello Stewart, I'm Cassidy, you're big sister" she said as she hooked up her couplings to his and pulled him to the station where another turn table turned both of them in their proper directions. Then they got hooked up to a long freight train that was waiting for them. Cassidy led while Stewart was hooked up to the train and Cassidy's tender.

"So Cassidy, where are we goi'n exactly?" Stewart asked.

"We're headed down to Atlanta where we can be useful!" Cassidy answered excitedly and when the conductor waved his hand held lantern, off they went. Martin was waiting for them and he whistled a good luck to Stewart as he passed, and Stewart whistled back until they disappeared into the morning horizon.


	4. Chapter 4: From Stewart, to Casey

_Knoxville, Tennessee:  
November 2, 1915. 1:00pm _

Ten years have passed since Stewart was revealed and in that span he has formed a very strong friendship with his crew and his sister Cassidy. Today they were hauling a very heavy freight train and it had taken all day, all night, and half the next day for them to pull their train from Alexandria to Atlanta, when they got there Stewart found a pair of telephone lines hanging over the tracks above him.

"Hey Cassidy, what are those for?" he asked.

"What, the cables? Those are for them fancy new electric trains. I hear they are attempt'n to replace us" Cassidy replied and sure enough one was stopped at a station taking passengers while they slowly stopped at a signal. It looked like a lunch box with poles sticking off the top. It was painted white with a big Virginia green stripe along the side. His face looked to be around late 20's if he was human, but he looked rough, he even had a scar on his nose that went down it.

"Well, speak of the Devil and he shall appear" Cassidy said quietly, Stewart was confused, over the years he hasn't been to Atlanta very often, most of the time he was in Alabama or Mississippi and this is his first job after he was transferred to the Atlanta division of Southern.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the sweet Cassidy and…what the Hell is that ugly thing behind you?" the electric asked in a rough, somewhat flirtatious voice in the first half of his sentence until the second half where it turned to hostility.

"It's called a freight train, I think the electric wires have finally fried your circuits" Cassidy said smugly.

"Not the train Grandma, the thing between you and the train" the electric snapped. Stewart was offended and was about to shout in protest, but Cassidy stopped him.

"Don't worry about him Stewart, Raymond here is just rude and stupid, built like that perhaps" she said. Stewart couldn't help but chuckle at the comment. Raymond on the other hand sneered and as soon as the conductor gave the order he raced out of the station as fast as he could, grumbling dreadfully along the way.

"That was Raymond, Stewart, he's rude, mean, and very prideful, which I don't understand, he hasn't done anything worth read'n about aside from being the only electric engine that Southern Railway has rented as an experiment" Cassidy explained.

"Why would our railway even use him?" Stewart asked.

"My engineer tells me that our controller is beginning to think that steamers like you and me are uneconomical and electric engines are the future. I for one don't buy it, it costs a fortune to light up a house, much less power an entire railway with electricity" Cassidy explained. At that moment the signal went straight up and off they went again. It was evening when they finally made it to the freight yard in Atlanta. From there they had their train unhooked and they made their way to the roundhouse where they saw several freight locomotives resting. One of them was a Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikado type number 4534, another one of the same exact model and make but numbered 4554. A third locomotive was a Burnham, Williams & Co J-2, 2-8-0 Consolidation number 470, and finally the last locomotive resting in the shed, was the most beautiful of all, to Stewart at least, another Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikado number 4501. She had black paint just like the rest of them, but her eyes shown a beautiful emerald green eyes and a face that looked like an angel's to Stewart.

"Uh, C-Cassidy, who's that one, third one from the right?" he asked nervously.

"That's Sarah, she is Southern's first Mikado and she came around here back in 1911 and spends most of her time in Tennessee…don't tell me you're fall'n in love little brother." Cassidy said in a teasing manner.

"What? Of course not, don't be ridiculous." Stewart asked. But before Cassidy could answer, there was a chorus of cheers and whistles. They figured out that the new engine belonged to Southern Railway. Cassidy uncoupled from him, moved onto the turn table, and was moved into the roundhouse once she was turned around onto an empty track. Now Stewart was waiting nervously and he wasn't so sure about getting on that turntable, but John, his engineer pulled the lever and made him roll onto the turn table.

"Ladies and gentletrains, I give you, Stewart" Cassidy announced, and more cheering ensued.

"He looks exactly like you Cassidy" said the engine numbered 470 he was obviously of the male persuasion, he too like Raymond looked tough, but he had a gentle smile to him.

"Pity, I'd like to have _two_ Pauls' hangi'n around here" The 4534 replied to the 470 who laughed at the comment. Cassidy rolled her lime green eyes at the comment.

"Don't worry about them Stewart, they're just crazy" rang in the 4554 who was male. Sarah, the 4501, smiled as Stewart was carefully backed in between her and Cassidy.

"Hi, I'm Sarah" she said with the most beautiful voice. Stewart struggled to say "hello" back to her, to which she giggled.

-

_Sodor, 2013_

"So, you knew Cassidy, _AND_ Sarah before being part of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum?" asked Henry with interest.

"Yes, I did, and I still believe that I am the luckiest engine on Earth because I got to be with them after retirement" Casey replied.

"Wow, that's amazing" Edward replied.

"So where'd you get the name 'Casey'?" James asked.

"Well…" Casey started.

-

_Chattanooga, Tennessee, December 19, 1917 _

Stewart was waiting patiently at Citco yard for his next freight train. The United States had entered World War 1, and his train was supposed to be a shipment of parts for a new machine called "Mark VIII tanks" to take to New Orleans. Originally the parts were made in Pittsburgh, and there was a four way train transfer between the Pennsylvania, Norfolk and Western, the Nashville Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, who was due in the next few minutes to drop the train off, and take another freight train back, and then completed by the Southern. John was drinking a cup of coffee and Matthew was trying to use Stewart's fire to keep himself warm in the cold evening, the weather was horrible, with icy rains reaching 5 inches.

"The NC boy is due" John told his fireman.

"Good, I have been itching to get down to New Orleans and out of this cold" Matthew replied. Suddenly, a small porter 0-6-0 rolled up beside Stewart with the current controller of the railway in her cab, this engine was Dorothy, a friend of both Cassidy and Sarah, Stewart liked her, she had a strong presence of innocence about her that just made him smile.

"Gentlemen, we have a problem!" the controller shouted.

"What is it?" John asked.

"The locomotive pulling a train carrying troops for the Army has broken down in Knoxville on it's way to Fort McClellan in Alabama, it's already late by four hours because the idiot engineer didn't know what he was do'n" the controller replied.

"You guys are the only engine and crew I could find that was relatively close and not overly busy"

"But we're supposed to pick up a train of parts for tanks and take them to New Orleans!" protested Matthew.

"You can take them both! I have contacted the station master and he says he will push the arrival time back a few hours, plenty of time for you to THAT train to Knoxville with you as you pick up the army train, drop off the army train at the station in Anniston, and continue down to New Orleans, from there you will help Cassidy pull two trains back here to be split up to go to Washington D.C. and Charlotte" answered the man.

"Think you can make it Stewart?" Dorothy asked.

"I'll do my best" was his reply and just moments later, NC&StL K1A 4-6-2 Pacific number 506 with a "Vanderbilt" tender pulled in next to Dorothy, he looked tired.

"Excuse me…" he panted "but are you Stewart? The locomotive who is going to take my cars?"

"No silly, but he is" laughed Dorothy. The NC engine was too tired to laugh but without barking at Dorothy, he looked to Stewart.

"Oh thank goodness, I was beginning to think I will never find you, this yard is crazy tonight" He was then uncoupled from the train and he moved slowly out of the way while Stewart got hooked up to the train.

"Don't you worry none, I'll make sure your train is on time, now if you will excuse me, I must go to Knoxville" he said and he puffed away.

"/bKnoxville!? That train is supposed to go to New Orleans/b!" shouted the Pacific, but Stewart didn't listen, and Dorothy explained the situation to him, it made him feel a little better but now he wished the news was brought to him sooner, he would have stopped at Knoxville first to pick up the train himself before bringing it over to Chattanooga, it would have been easier and less time wasteful, not to mention that he was built for passenger service, he just happened to be the only one available in Bristol when the tanks were dropped off by the boys of Norfolk and Western. Meanwhile, Stewart battled the weather to make it to the main station in Knoxville where the train full of troops was already six hours late. Now the next challenge was to get Stewart turned around, a few porters took his heavy freight while he left to find a turn table. When he found it he moved with no hesitation and was turned around facing the right direction. When he got back to his train he found that it was already hooked up to the coaches. He thanked the tank engines who had shunted the two trains together as he hooked up again. This time the caboose was hooked up to his tender, and now the train was exactly seven hours late.

_I'll have to move quick if I want to get these guys to the base and my freight to New Orleans on time, and hope that I don't run into red signals._ He thought to himself as he finally heard the conductor yell out. With icy rain pouring on him, he set off as quickly as he could.

-

_Sodor, 2013_

"Seven hours late with icy rain? How did you survive the trip without slipping off the rails?" Thomas asked.

"You know, that's a question I ask myself to this day, I guess you could say I had an angel watching over me that night" Casey answered.

"So how much time did you make up?" Gordon asked.

"That's where the story gets interesting" Casey said.

-

_Huntsville, Alabama, December 19, 1917_

Stewart rolled carefully into town to pick up water and coal before continuing onto Anniston where the base was located. He felt like he was going to fall apart as soon as he stopped under the water tower. By now the rain had died down but it was still very cold outside and very wet. When he was getting his tender filled with coal, he heard some men chattering about him.

"I thought this train was late by seven hours"

"He must've been go'n at high speed"

"If he keeps go'n at the rate he was when he was outside the city, his chances are very slim, but he might just get the train on time, not bad for a freight engine"

Stewart couldn't believe what he was hearing, and so he decided to ask.

"Excuse me gentlemen, but how much time did I make up?"

"You made up five hours with another three to go at normal speed" the tallest of the men answered. At that point Stewart knew he had to get going and sure enough, his tender was full and his fire was quickly making steam and his engineer pulled the throttle. Off again they went into the dark night. The ride was bumpy for the troops inside the coaches and some of them were complaining as precious time was being made up.

"Stewart, slow down!" called John who had a hard time keeping the engine under control.

"But John, we can make it, Anniston is just up ahead!" Stewart called. John looked at his watch to find they were now only thirty minutes behind schedule compared to the original seven hours.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle" he said to Matthew, and he showed the time. Matthew obviously did not believe him at first until he looked at his own watch and it said the same thing.

"Do you think we can make it?" he asked.

"We'll be late for sure, but at this rate it will only be a few minutes" replied John and Stewart roared ahead. With ten minutes to spare, there was Anniston, in the morning light, they slowed down to allow a safe stop at the station. When they arrived, they found a tall, buff, man who wore a U.S. Army general's uniform standing on the platform waiting patiently for them. With no hesitation, Stewart pulled himself and the freight cars past the station to allow the new soldiers to finally get off their carnival ride of a train. The men who were complaining about the ride began to charge to Stewart to give his crew a piece of their minds when suddenly the General stood in front of them.

"Welcome to Anniston boys, I understand you are five minutes late" he said. The men told him about the ride they had and were quick to blame Stewart for being late.

"**WHAT A HORRIBLE EXCUSE FOR MEN YOU ARE! DID YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT I HAVE NOT HEARD THAT YOU GRUNTS WERE SEVEN LONG HOURS LATE!? I WAS THE FIRST MAN THE CREW OF YOUR ORIGINAL LOCOMOTIVE TOLD ABOUT! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES! THIS ENGINE AND HIS CREW NOT ONLY SAVED YOU FROM UTTER HUMILIATION, BUT THEY ALSO GAVE YOU TRAINING FOR THE SHIP RIDE YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE ONCE YOUR TRAINING HERE IS COMPLETE**!" the general shouted at the top of his lungs. The soldiers did not reply, they just stood attention and moved back into formation. The general slowly walked up to Stewart, and eyed him for a moment. He could tell he worked so hard that his wheels looked as if they would fall off. Stewart was nervous, he didn't know what the man would say to him after what he told those men. But the general gave a very small smile.

"What's your name son?" he asked.

"S-Stewart sir" replied the engine.

"Stewart? I don't believe that name fits you, from now on, I will call you Casey. Because you remind me of Casey Jones" the General replied.

"Who's Casey Jones?" Stewart asked, confused.

"What? Did nobody tell you?" the general asked.

"He never asked" called out John, who was oiling his gears.

"My boy, it is a story that you should know" the general replied, but before he could begin, John interrupted him.

"With all do respect sir, we must get going if we plan to make it to New Orleans on time" he said.

"Oh, yes, pardon me, carry on boys…America is in your debt" the general replied and he moved over to the platform.

"Let's hear it for Casey! America's finest locomotive!" he shouted and with him came a huge cheer from the soldiers that never complained and even a few who did cheered as well while Casey pulled out of the station, next stop, New Orleans.

-

_Sodor, 2013_

The engines in the shed were in awe, even Spencer, who had quietly snuck in next to the shed to hear the second half of the story, and without a word, he puffed away.

"But I thought Cassidy was the first to call you Casey" Percy spoke up.

"Well, many people get confused, Cassidy was the first of the other engines to call me that, and quite frankly I am honored by it" Casey replied.

"What about New Orleans? Did you make it in the delayed deadline?" Toby asked. Casey smiled widely.

"I made it an hour before the original deadline so my crew got a much needed rest while I told Cassidy all about it. And that was when she first started call'n me Casey too. And when we got home she told everybody and the name now sticks with me forever"


	5. Chapter 5: Steam Vs Electricity

_Sodor, 2013_

It had been a few days since Casey told the story about how he acquired his nickname, Since then he has pulled mostly freight trains and local passenger trains except for once when he pulled Gordon's express while the big British AO was getting the tires on his wheels replaced. Naturally people flocked to take pictures of the big green Alco before he could depart from Tidmouth Hault to go to Maron Station at the bottom of Gordon's Hill. When he got there he found Henry with a long freight train waiting for the signal to change.

"Morn'n Henry, nice day ain't it?" he called with a stop.

"It is indeed a lovely morning" was Henry's reply; the sky has just the right amount of clouds to go with the morning sun. The temperature was around 72 degrees Fahrenheit. (22.222222 degrees Celsius) with a very faint breeze that traveled downwind. Just at that moment, a blue engine that was as tall as Casey rolled in with his own freight train, this one was a Pennsylvania Railroad 4-6-2 K4 Pacific with a blue body, red wheels and cowcatcher, and a face Casey Recognized.

"Well, I'll be a motor car's uncle! Hank! Long time no see!" Casey called excitedly.

"Hey, Casey! It HAS been a long time!" Hank laughed in his uncharacteristically cowboy accent. Henry was confused.

"So you two know each other?" he asked.

"Yes sir, we first met at the 1926 World's Fair in Philadelphia" Hank answered, Henry nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hank I forgot all about your cowboy voice, I still find it strange com'n from an engine from the Pennsylvania" Casey said.

"I know Casey, I don't get it either" Hank replied. And at that moment, the conductor blew his whistle while waiving his green flag. It was time for Casey to leave.

"We'll talk later, it was good see'n you again Hank" Casey called as he pulled out.

"Likewise" Hank replied. The rest of the day was Casey running the express all over the island until the final evening train where Connor, another American locomotive except he was streamlined and he originally belonged to the New York Central, took passengers from Ulfstead to the mainland.

_Finally._ he thought. _I can finally rest once I get back to the sheds._ And he was right; the sheds were empty except for Gordon, who quietly acknowledged the Alco's presence, when he pulled into his stall. The area was quiet, but not for long. Duck, Hiro, and Hank slowly came home from their work, around similar times. The shed was quiet again until Duck, who was parked next to Casey decided he wanted to hear more stories.

"Hey Casey, I've been thinking about that electric train you met on your first day, what happened with him?" Duck asked.

"You mean Raymond?" Casey asked.

"Oh yes, it seemed to me that there were going to be problems between you and him" Hiro answered. Hank kept quiet, he had heard these stories before. Casey gave it some thought to put his words together and right before he started, Spencer chuffed onto the turntable.

"My, my, it seems the great Casey is about to tell more of his tall tales" he said proudly.

"They are not tall tales! They're true!" Hank argued.

"It's alright Hank, he's entitled to his opinion, but what I won't tolerate is you chuffing in here with that attitude" Casey scolded. Spencer glared and was about to puff to a different shed when Hiro spoke up.

"Please, stay and listen, I saw how much you enjoyed his stories last time, maybe you'll like this one too" With a moment of thought, Spencer moved back on the turntable, was turned around, and backed into a stall.

"Why not? I could use a good laugh" he said. Casey rolled his eyes and began.

-

_Atlanta Georgia, March 1920:_

The Great War had been over for a couple of years and many people were saying it was a mistake. Casey didn't care, he was glad that it was over so now he didn't have to worry about excessive work that the war caused. One morning he was busy shunting his own freight cars when he noticed Cassidy backing up into a siding looking as if she was trying to get away from something. Casey looked and soon enough, Raymond followed her with a really creepy expression on his face.

"Aw Come on Baby, you know you love me" he said, followed by a loud call for help by Cassidy's voice. John looked over to his fireman to ask if they should intervene when Casey shouted.

"CASSIDY!" another shriek followed. That was enough for John and Matthew to have Casey come and help. With no hesitation, they got Casey turned around and soon on the line they knew was the right one by the electric wires that hung overhead. IT didn't take them long to find Raymond trying to kiss Cassidy aggressively.

"BACK AWAY FROM MY SISTER YOU SPARKY BASTARD!" Casey shouted. He wasn't one for cussing, but this time he was angry enough to actually do it. Raymond was surprised, despite Casey being a steamer, he came in very quietly.

"Wha-when did you get here Smoker?" he stuttered. With no hesitation, Casey hooked up to Raymon's rear coupler and started pulling him backwards.

"Oh no you don't" Raymond replied as he pushed his throttle to the max, the electric current traveling in his system tripled and his driving power also tripled, he managed to pull Casey forward again. Matthew threw more coal into Casey's fire and John opened the throttle full force. The two engines moved into a stalemate, but it only lasted for one minute before Casey finally got the upper hand and pulled the electric menace back just enough to let Cassidy's driver to flip the switch and get her out of her predicament. After that, Matthew carefully walked over to the front and pulled the rod that held Casey's coupling closed. Without warning, Raymond zoomed back forward and smashed into the siding pole, creating a big hole where his eye used to be. He screamed in sheer pain, he shouted revenge on Casey as he pulled away with his sister.

"Thanks Casey, I thought I was gonna die back there" Cassidy panted.

"Anytime sis, anytime" was the reply. It didn't take long for the news to spread all the way to the higher ups, who quickly cracked down on Casey and suspended him and his crew without pay for six months, as for Raymond, they never replaced his eye, they gave him an eye patch and straightened his face, but his behavior was not going to go unpunished, he was now banned from pulling passengers and was now stuck with freight for the rest of his rental. All of the engines, especially Cassidy and Sarah, thought that it was an unfair turnout but they knew that the bosses' word is final. Raymond however never bothered Cassidy again and now he had a huge fear of Casey.

One problem was partially solved, but now, a new problem has emerged, the Prohibition Era had begun in January and there were smugglers EVERYWHERE, nobody could tell if their fellow man was either an illegal drinker, or a man who rebuked alcohol and followed the law. About a week into suspension, Casey's crew was performing some much needed maintenance and they even got his fire started so that they could move him to oil his cylinders. Suddenly, a yard supervisor burst through the door looking tired.

"Oh good, you're steamed up, I need your help" he said.

"We're suspended, remember?" John asked cryptically.

"Yes, I do, but we have a problem, an alcohol smuggler has hijacked Raymond and you are the only people available to chase him down" the supervisor replied.

"Well I don't know, we really can't leave and we're not getting paid" Matthew said in his usual manipulative way. Casey soon played up to the act.

"Yeah, and I'm not supposed ta leave for another five and three-quarter months"

"Look, I'll cut you guys a deal, I can't get rid of your suspension, but I can at most shorten it by three months if you can catch Raymond" the man replied. That was enough persuasion, the crew quickly brought the man into Casey's cab and they set off. While many thought that Raymond would be way too far away, however, the opposite was true, Raymond was racing forwards just outside of Dalton Georgia, a town that sat at a fourty-five minute drive from Chattanooga when Casey caught him, apparently the man who stole him didn't quite know what he was doing, but was determined to get away from the chasing steamer. Soon enough, the man leaned out of the cab with one of those new Thompson Sub-machine guns and he opened fire. Miraculously, Casey's faceplate and boiler weren't touched by the bullets. Casey didn't know what happened next, but he did hear a very loud "MATTHEW" from what sounded like John's voice. The next thing he knew, his speed increased tenfold, and it donged on him, John was going to push Raymond and the crook off the rails.

"John! What are you doing!?" he called. But there was no reply, he just went faster and faster until finally he found himself actually pushing Raymond, who screamed in fear. His screams and Casey's pleas fell on deaf ears as John pulled the lever into full throttle, soon enough a curve was up ahead. Casey looked in horror, it was far too sharp for him to make it at this speed without de-railing. He shut his eyes and began to pray that he wouldn't, but suddenly, his steam was shut off and his brakes fully engaged. Has John finally come to his senses? Or did the Supervisor do something rash to get control? Both ways the locomotive was stopping very quickly, and then, it happened. Unbeknownst to anyone, a long freight train was stopped at a signal and at high speed, Raymond was crashed into the caboose, this time he was completely demolished. By the Grace of God, Casey wasn't hurt, but he saw the crook jump off and run before the crash. But that didn't matter, the caboose was destroyed, Raymond was basically destroyed beyond repair, and Casey was dazed.

It didn't take long for the fire department to come and put out what fire there was, Casey watched as a couple of those new police cars race out to track down the crook. But as soon as he was backed away from the remains of Raymond, he heard very faint sobbing.

"Uh guys, what, what happened?" he wordily asked. His answer came soon, a group of paramedics walked up to the front pulling a cart with what looked like a body. The head paramedic had the whole team stop as he saw the expression on Casey's face, then he had the team pull the cart onto the tracks and uncovered the body, it was Matthew, with several bullet holes in his head and neck.

"I'm sorry son, he's gone" the doctor somberly said.

"Wha-what do you mean gone? You mean you can't fix him?" Casey asked.

"People can't be fixed as easily as you can, I regret to tell you that your fireman, is dead" the doctor replied. While he didn't know how humans worked, he did understand what being dead meant. Immediately his eyes began to water, his nose became stopped up, he did his best to hold it back, but it was too much, Matthew was very close and now he's been taken away by some guy who wanted to make a fortune out of people's lust for alcohol. The tears basically flowed out like a waterfall as the doctors took Matthew's body to their trucks. John, who was recovering from the event walked up and sat on the Alco's pilot.

"I know Casey, I know" he said quietly, he just let his engine cry it out. He continued to cry over the loss for the next several days, Raymond was sent to a scrap yard, his electric cable lines were taken down, and John spent the next week trying to comfort his engine. It didn't help that the suspension wasn't shortened.

-

_Sodor, 2013_

The other engines in the shed were horrified. They weren't expecting a pair of gruesome deaths in one story. Hiro noticed a small tear roll out of Casey's eye.

"I'm sorry for your loss" he said.

"That memory still haunts me after all these years, it was bad enough I crushed Raymond who was finally respecting me and my fellow steamers, but Matthew was my best friend in my early days" Casey replied to no one in particular. Spencer at first had a hard time buying the story until he too saw the expression on Casey's face, he was sincere with his pain, so the A4 remained respectfully silent. Casey smiled again.

"But I know Ole Matt is in a better place now so there's no need to feel sorry for me" he said optimistically.


	6. Chapter 6

**Let it be known that Erika does not belong to me, she belongs to The Raging Blue Flame**

* * *

Nothing Like A Little Daylight to Warm Your Pistons (part 1):

* * *

_Sodor, November 2013_

A few days have passed since Casey told the story about Matthew's death, and each night he stayed at a different place, or even ran an all-night freight special one time. This particular early morning he was out pulling a local passenger between Wellsworth Station and Elsbridge station to connect the passengers to Thomas' branch line. He was waiting on a red signal on the main line when suddenly, he heard a very deep whistle, "demonic" as the sodor engines described American whistles. Casey never understood why, European whistles sound like dying birds of various sizes and yet they think of his as strange. Anywho he looked up ahead, and already he could tell it was too big to be a European so it must be American, and she was coming fast. Finally she sped past him, he could already tell it was a girl but what he wasn't prepared for was the type. A 4-8-4 Northern with orange, red, and black livery.

"Guys, was that a Daylight? He asked.

"I don't know, but it sure did look like one," replied the driver.

A couple of hours later, Casey's Local was waiting for Thomas to take his passengers at Elbridge Station. Jerry was talking to his firewoman, Brittney about something. Jerry was a gentleman around his late 60's, his once brown hair is finally starting to turn grey, however he remains in good shape. Brittney was a young woman in her early twenties with blonde hair and brown eyes, she had a shape that would easily make all the uncivilized men howl like wolves. While he did find her attractive, Jerry saw her more as a student and a friend, pretty soon, she will take over as Casey's driver as his retirement years are slowly approaching. He was now talking to her about how to spot a responsible fireman.

"Remember, if he or she only cares about gett'n her job done and nothing more, they ain't gonna to learn from mistakes very quickly, often times they will leave you to clean Casey out yourself. When that happens, you might wanna either give 'em a piece of yur mind, and it that don't work, ask for a replacement before they either kill ya with work overload, or break Casey here beyond repair." He said with a Cajun accent. He was from New Orleans, Louisiana obviously but he and his family moved to Chattanooga Tennessee when he was a teenager to get away from the high crime rates and low abilities to arm himself for protection due to some of the toughest gun control laws in the U.S.

"Don't worry Jerry, I'll make sure Casey here is well kept," she laughed. She was originally from Lakeland Florida, but wanting to be a driver ever since the first time she went to the Amtrak station downtown with her grandmother, she earned up enough money to go to the Modoc Railroad Academy, the first and only full service educational railroad training school in the United States, located in Marion, Illinois. Unfortunately, there were none of the major companies were willing to hire her when she completed it, just because they weren't fond with teaching any college kids about their lines, like all the other big companies around the U.S. So she moved back south to get a job, do some volunteer work at a museum, and gain the experience that maybe a railroading company like CSX, Norfolk Southern, or maybe even Union Pacific would hire her, and what better museum than the TVRM? While she worked full time for Amazon during the weekdays she did her volunteer work on the weekends where she learned how to drive steamers like Casey, Cassidy, and Sarge, another locomotive that ran at museums, he was a Baldwin Lima-Hamilton 2-8-0 Consolidation #610, he was one of the last locomotives built for service in the United States and he ran as a trainer for the U.S. Army before being obtained by the National Railway Historical Society in Alabama after his retirement in the '60s, and he was donated to the TVRM in 1978. He is currently awaiting his turn for a massive overhaul so that he can pull Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program with all the other operational locomotives in the Museum.

Anywho, the crew had taken a real liking to Casey and when they learned that he was being sold to the North Western Railway on Sodor they immediately applied for citizenship. Of course it will be a few years before either one of them can actually be a legal citizen citizen but Sir Topham Hat was more than happy to have a crew that was familiar with Casey continue to work with him. Today, Casey was still trying to picture what he saw in the morning in his mind when Thomas arrived with his two Victorian Era coaches Annie and Clarabelle.

"Hey, Thomas, is there a GS-4 Daylight on Sodor?" Casey asked him.

"Yes, and I'm surprised you haven't met her yet," was the little blue tanker's reply.

"As am I since you mention it, do you know her?"

"Yeah, her name is Erika, she normally pulls expresses like Gordon and she double-heads with him every evening."

_Huh, Erika, where have I heard that name before?_ Casey thought to himself.

"Did you meet her when you were both in the states?" Thomas asked.

"I think so, I may have met her when I went on my final run before retirement."

"Well, maybe you'll get to see her tonight when you come back to Tidmouth."

"Here's hop'n." Casey said and with a whistle blow from the conductor and then a pair of blasts from his whistle, he set off for Knapfford. Trying to remember how his trip to California in 1952 went and what happened.

_Richmond, Virginia, September 30, 1952:_

It had been seven years since World War Two was officially over and the Korean War was in at its peak. Casey thought when the war began it would again halt the advancement and mass production of diesels. But reality was, that wasn't the case, by 1948 they were all over Southern Railway. Cassidy was sold earlier that year to the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad and Sarah was sold to the Kentucky and Tennessee Railway in 1948. To make matters worse, already all of the railways famous passenger trains were taken over by E-series diesels and steam was slowly losing its freight service to Geeps and F-Units. On this morning though, Casey's current driver, a young African American by the name of Marcellus Whirly, opened the door to Casey's current stall as usual. Casey could remember the first time they met, he was the first negro engineer he had and he wasn't expecting to have one while he served on Southern at all, what with the southern states being segregated in those days and all. He wasn't a bad man and he did do the extra work to keep the Alco healthy, but he and Casey never quite got to know each other very well considering they've only known each other for a couple of months, John retired after WW1 and Casey had several drivers that were drafted by the military before Marcellus came in. Marcellus also got along enough with Barry, the fifth fireman Casey's had in his life and he too was young, he was a bit lazier and more wanting to get his paycheck than caring about Casey's health so he usually left before Marcellus could make him stay and clean. This morning Casey groaned at the sudden awakening and looked down to him.

"Dog-gone it Marcellus, any louder and you would have woken these here idiotic diesels." he quietly complained. That was the main problem Casey had to deal with, the diesels are rude, mean and cocky for the most part.

"Sorry Casey, I just wanted to get an early start, for I have some good news and bad news for you." The driver smiled.

"News? What's the good news?" Casey asked.

"Well, I was gonna wait until we get there BUT, just for you, the good news is that we're going all the way out to California to deliver fruit, livestock, and building materials."

"California? Why in heaven's name would they send me all the way out to California?"

"Well, that's where the bad news comes in I'm afraid, it's your last run."

"So they're finally retire'n me, twenty years later than most of my kind." Southern retired most of the 2-8-0 consolidations in the 1930's in favor of mikados like Sarah or the 2-10-2's, or other larger engines, but they did keep a few of them for main-line service or branch-line work. Casey usually worked the Missionary Ridge branch line until World War 2 started where the need for extra power brought him back to the main line for the rest of his career.

_Sodor:_

Casey's flashback was cut short when he came to a stop at the first station after Elsbridge, he looked all around and saw James pass by with a short freight train. And soon after, Erika, rolled in beside him and noticed the green Southern Alco trying to process his thoughts.

"Morning!" she said, to see just how far deep he was in thought. Casey looked over and for the first time in over sixty years he saw a GS-4 Daylight.

"OH! Uh, Morn'n ma'am, I didn't notice you come in."

"I can see that…you must be Casey."

"Yes ma'am I am, and you must be Erika." Casey replied

"Yep, that's me, most beautiful engine in the world" she boasted. Casey smiled as he rolled her eyes at that comment, then he noticed she looked much younger than she should have, like a teenager, but he didn't say anything, best not to offend her or bring up any bad memories. But she noticed something familiar with him, and she wasted no time.

"Do I know you from somewhere? You look like someone I met in Cali." She said.

"Well my last run took me to California in '52, not quite sure if that helps any." Casey replied.

"Not really" And with that the conductor for Casey's train blew his whistle while waiving his flag.

"Well, it was nice meet'n you, maybe our familiarity will be answered when we meet again" Casey said and with that he puffed away.

"Hmm, I know that deep voice and that face from somewhere, but where?" Erika asked herself as she watched him leave.

_Why must my memory be bad at the most awkward of times?_ Casey thought. Again he went into trying to remember his encounter with her.

_Virginia, 1952:_

During the whole time it took for Marcellus and Barry when he finally showed up to get Casey making steam, the Alco was grieving about how this is his last train, and it didn't take long for Joe, a black F7 diesel number 4213 to figure out what was going on. Joe originally worked for the New Jersey Central but Southern bought him in 1950, and he wasted no time to take chances to piss off Casey or other steamers about being old technology, and he spent what felt like an eternity mocking them for it. He also made fun of the Southern diesels for being, well, Southern, always berating their intelligence and their characters.

"So, you're finally going to be retied huh? Took 'em long enough to realize the superiority of us diesels, first it's you and then it will be all of the rest of you kind!" he said rudely with a New Jersey accent. That was another thing Casey hated about Joe, his voice was really annoying and often times he would call Casey "Brother Yankee" to make fun of his Southern heritage that stretched all the way to the Civil War. But today, Casey was not going to have any of it.

"Oh for cry'n out loud Joe, **shut up**! I'm sick and tired of your cargo spill'n stupidity!" he snapped.

"Now you wait one second, I told you that wasn't my fault, it was the fault of those fighter jet boys, they decided to have a low flyby and the scare made me drop my cargo!"

"That don't matter none, an engine must be prepared for anything."

"Easy Casey, you know arguing with him is like arguing with a fence post" Marcellus but in.

"Yeah, you listen to your engineer Brother Yankee, wouldn't want to have to be scrapped before you can make yourself look old out west!" Joe mocked, but at the moment, with plenty of steam, Casey had enough, he blasted Joe with a powerful stream of steam for ten long seconds. The blast was so strong, he actually melted the livery off of the front right quadrant, particularly the cab, right off and exposed the primer. The other diesels laughed at Joe's dilemma and Casey gave a triumphant smile.

"Y-y-you are going to pay for this indignity!" Joe threatened, still shocked about what had just happened.

"I ain't got no regrets" Casey replied and Marcellus pulled him out of the roundhouse and towards the freight yard.

_Sodor, 2013:_

Casey chuckled to himself at the memory, to this day he still doesn't regret doing what he did to Joe, and he'd be more than happy to blast him again. He was stopped at a red signal when he noticed Percy on the main line with the mail train. Percy noticed the expression on Casey's face that said he was remembering something funny, and he didn't want to left out of a joke.

"Hey Casey, what are you thinking about?" he asked. Casey looked to him and his smile grew.

"Ever see a diesel with half its paint melted off?"

"No."

Casey couldn't keep himself from laughing now.

"I won't deny Percy, it's the funniest thing I'll ever see in my entire life"


	7. Chapter 7

**Let it be known that I don't own Erika, Madison, they belong to The Raging Blue Flame, Scarlett and Daemon(mention) belong to Darthmaul90. I have obtained permission from these people to use their characters. **

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Nothing Like A Little Daylight to Warm Your Pistons (part 2) : 

_Sodor, 2013:_

Casey spent all day trying to think about where he had met Erika before this morning, he knew it had to have been when he went west on his final run before retirement. He saw multiple flashbacks that were jumbled all over the place as far as what was when. Why? Why must his memory go all screwy now? He might be old but he's not THAT old, he's known the famous "General", a Baldwin 4-4-0 that was captured by Union Spies and forced to run to Chattanooga during the Civil War and was the main part of the "Great Locomotive Chase", and he doesn't have bad memory, so why Casey? The Alco spent all day trying to think of how to gather up his memory of his run, he thought so hard during that time span that he didn't notice until he started to rotate on a turn table that it was evening and his job was done.

"What in blue blazes? Have I really been think'n that hard?" he asked rather out loud.

"Yes, you were." called out Jerry.

"We didn't want to bug you while you were trying to figure out where you met Erika before today." Brittney chimed in with her sweet Florida voice. Casey looked around at the shed, he noticed the only engine there was Gordon, who looked at him as if he was a little crazy.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, it's just that you seem to be thinking out loud." Gordon replied.

"You know, I have been think'n a lot today haven't I? I was just try'n to figure out where exactly I met Erika before this morn'n." Casey said as he backed into a stall that skipped over one from Gordon's.

"So you finally met Erika did you? Well you might want to keep your wheels to yourself, she's _my_ girlfriend!" Casey was now more confused than he had been all day.

"What the Hell are you talk'n 'bout? I barely even know her, much less find any kind of attraction but as an acquaintance!" now it was his turn to look at Gordon like _he_ was crazy. Gordon blushed, for a moment he felt a little embarrassed, he cleared his smoke box and spoke again but in a much calmer tone.

"Forgive me, she's just known a lot of men in her life and I don't want to have to find out she was still with another."

"Ah, yes, I know that feel'n, don't you worry none, we're still good"

"Thank you"

"...What in the world are you do'n here anyway? Shouldn't you be pull'n some express?"

"Oh, I will, I'm just resting here so that I can double-head with Erika to pull the evening "Nor' Western Daylight Express", as her driver would call it." Gordon grinned.

"Lemme guess, she always leads?" The only answer Casey needed and got was a blushing, yet sly grin from the big AO.

"I thought so."

Minutes later, the girl in question rolled up to the nearby station and signaled Gordon that it was time for their express, and with a simple "see you later" Gordon puffed away from the shed, leaving Casey completely alone.

Oh well, maybe I can put my thoughts together/i he thought, and he began to remember when he went out to the station he left in '52. /i

_Alexandria, Virginia, Semptember 30, 1952:_

It had been an hour since Casey left Joe cussing in the shed in Richmond, he was now awaiting his freight train next to a platform. The peace and quiet he was enjoying was short live however, on the other side of the platform, was the famous Southern Crescent passenger train for the longest time it was pulled by steam, but now it was being pulled by a green, white and gold EMD E8 diesel number 6909 along with five other diesels of the same model. Casey knew and disliked the lead diesel too, but at least she respected his accomplishments and feats that many would deem impossible at the time.

"Good morning Old Timer, what's got you down in the dumps this time?" she asked smugly.

"The fact that the most illustrious of passenger trains is being pulled by you idiots, I can't wait for Scarlett to come home!" he snapped. Scarlett is Southern's Pacific Class 4-6-2 number 1401. She usually runs The Tennessean to Memphis to meet up with some guy she wouldn't stop talking to Casey and her other friends about. Wasn't his name Daemon? Casey wasn't sure, but she has pulled The Southern Crescent from time to time. But over the spring and summer she was taken in for a complete overhaul and these diesels are her replacements. He hasn't met the ones that run The Tennessean but with all the dirt-cans he's met, he didn't want to.

"Touchy" and with that she and her sisters left him be. Minutes on the platform pass as a switcher brought Casey's freight cars to be filled up, this one remained respectfully silent as he did his job. Of course, again the silence was short lived. This time, a J class 4-8-4 streamlined engine number 611 pulled up to the platform, this one worked for the Norfolk and Western railway, and Casey didn't know her too well from the few times that they have met since her debut in 1950, except that she's egotistical and kind of spoiled. Casey always tries to be nice to her and teach her important life lessons whenever they meet, but she always scoffed him and never took his advice seriously. Today, the old Southern was in no mood for her attitude so he said nothing, but she looked over and recognized the old Southern.

"Morning Casey, lovely day to run The Pocahontas isn't it?" she asked. That was her premiere passenger train for Norfolk and Western, "The Pocahontas". It was to Norfolk and Western what the Southern Crescent was to the Southern Railway.

"Madison, don't start with me today, I've got a long way to go and I don't need a boiler ache all the way there." Casey groaned. Madison was upset by this, she knew Casey would always try to lecture her and stuff, but to see him snap at her like that? This was unacceptable! Inconceivable! It was, harsh.

"What's your problem?"

"I believe it's known as "A final run before retirement"."

"Oh come on, you can't be serious!" Casey shot her a glare that told her that was not kidding, she stopped and then Casey sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry I'm in this here mood, it's uncalled for, but I don't need any smart aleck'n before I get to California."

"You're going to CALIFORNIA!? WHY!?"

"I wish I knew Madison, I wish I knew..."

_Sodor:_

"I still don't know how she's managed to be to be the one saved from scrap," Casey said a little bit loudly.

"Who?" came a voice. Casey looked over to find Brittney sitting on his pilot, Jerry had already gone home to his wife in the town of Knapford.

"Madison."

"You mean that egotistical sausage train from Norfolk and Western?" Casey laughed at this.

"Yes, that one."

"I don't get it either, but she's still around. Oh well, at least she can't annoy us to death any more now that we're all the way out here."

"Praise the LORD!" Casey sighed and both of them got up to laughing to that. Of all the Firepeople he's had, Brittney is probably the closest he's had to Matthew and he loves having her in his cab, she just has this gift of understanding locomotives, and a real love for railroading. It's no wonder he was overjoyed the day she told him that she was coming with him to the Island of Sodor, she even had an offer from Norfolk Southern to be driver for them at the time. Anywho she does this every night, she stays with him for an extra hour or two before going home, and just enjoys watching other trains go by, of course she has fallen asleep on his pilot before, which Casey finds humorous. This night she watched the Scottish twin 0-6-0 tender engines Donald and Douglas working together as usual to pull one of their usual freight trains, Percy and Thomas beginning to run their nightly mail train, and James pulling the last local of the day. After all that, she checked her watch, it read 8:30 pm, and suddenly, her cell phone rang.

"Dog gone that dang phone of yours I was enjoying the quiet" Casey complained.

"Who could be calling me at this time? Hello? Yes? ...Oh hey Mark, how's it go'n? ...I'm fine, just sitt'n out here with Casey before I head for home. ...Boy I'll tell you what, it's amazing what Sodor is like, you have to come out here and see it. ...What? ...oh sure, hold on a minute." Brittney then pushed the speaker button, a voice came out so Casey could hear, it sounded like a young man.

"Hey, Casey, how's it going man?"

"Mark? Is that you?" Casey asked, still confused with how the cell phone worked, he understood the basics but beyond that he was clueless.

"Yeah man, we're all wondering how's Sodor treating you? But from what Brittney says it seems you're having a wonderful time"

"It's unbelievable, I haven't felt this useful since World War II started. I'm love'n it out here."

"That's good to hear, hey, I have a couple more people who wanna say hi to you." And then a few more voices came from it.

"Little Brother!" called in Cassidy excitedly.

"Hi Casey" came in Sarah, she sounded much better then she did a year before during her restoration, that had yet to be completed.

"Good to hear your voice Soldier!" that one was obviously Sarge, nobody else talked like that in the museum.

"It's great hear'n y'all too." and then it hit Casey

"Oh, are any of y'all familiar with a GS-4 Daylight named Erika?" There was a few moments of silence and a few "nos" until Sarah remembered.

"Yeah, I've met her before, she came eastward with her freedom train in the 70's I was part of it and I got to meet her, and now that I think about it, so did Mary." Mary was a Baldwin 2-8-0 Ks-1 class consolidation number 722 that was built in 1904 for Southern Railway. She spent most of her time pulling passengers with minor freight every now and then during her career. She was sold to the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad from the National Railway Historical Society of Asheville, NC and now she sits disassembled in Dillsboro, North Carolina awaiting funds for her turn of restoration.

"Okay, I think I remember you tell'n me about her, reason I ask is because I finally crossed paths with her this morning and she seems very familiar to me." Casey said.

"Well you did meet her in California back in '52 on your last run before Southern retired you." Cassidy said.

"Yeah, I figured that, I just can't quite remember what happened out there."

"Well, keep trying, I'm sure it will came back to you soon enough." Sarge replied.

"Thanks Sarge."

"Alright guys, I hate to cut the reunion short, but we still have a few excursions to do today. We just wanted to see how you're doing." Mark spoke up.

"Before we go Casey, say hi to Erika for me!" Sarah said.

"Will do baby." Casey replied. And they all said their good byes just in time for Henry pass by with the flying kipper, followed by Erika and Gordon's return to the shed.

"Well, there goes the last bit of peace and quiet..." he mumbled.

"Don't worry about it Casey, at least you can get to know Erika better." Brittney piped up quietly at the engine in question puffed into the stall next to him and Gordon rolled into the one next to her.

"Hi Casey, how was your day?" Erika asked.

"It was fine, can't really complain." Casey replied.

"Kept busy?"

"Eh, I was given a break for that all-nighter the other day."

"Cool, listen uh, I've been thinking, about today, you seem really familiar to me..." Erika said slowly. What would Casey say to her? would he be creeped out, flattered, or just plain confused?

"I've been pictur'n in my head how the first time I met you went down in '52."

"I don't remember seeing a southern passenger in California back then!"

"I wasn't green at the time, my paint was still black, and I was pulling freight."

"You were?"

"Yeah, in fact my remembrance train was at the point where I was leaving Madison in Virginia."

"Madison? You mean that bitch streamliner from Norfolk and Western?" Erika was now steamed, she hated Madison, and Madison hated her..._best friends forever!_

"Yup, that one, the last thing I said to her before I left was that I didn't know why they were sending me with a train all the way to California and back as my last run. I still don't know why." Erika calmed down a bit to listen. It was certainly not the time to let rivalries start a possible new friendship on bumpy tracks.

_Virginia:_

The crews spent forever trying to load Casey's train, in that time span, a few diesels came by and hazed the old steamer, except for one switcher who wished him well. Finally the important "ALL ABOARD" was called from the caboose, the signal jumped to green. Casey hesitated to look ahead, he sighed as Marcellus pulled the lever and got him moving with a pair of whistle blasts. The journey to California, has begun...


	8. Chapter 8

**Let it be known that I don't own Daemon nor Scarlett, they belong to Darthmaul90. Erika, and lady (the GE-44 Ton Switcher, not the one from the Magic Railroad) belong to The Raging Blue Flame. **

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Nothing Like A Little Daylight to Warm Your Pistons (part 3) :

_Atlanta Georgia, November 1, 1952: _

Casey's trip so far has been riddles with starts and stops, it was using up a lot of water and quite a bit of coal so in the main freight yard in downtown Atlanta, he had to stop at the only remaining water tower in the city. During his refuel, a pair of back-to-back blue, silver, white and black F-3 diesels numbers 904 and 908 stopped alongside, he worked for the Central of Georgia Railway, one of the smaller railways who carry the Southern Railway banner, and he looked rather snooty. The diesel looked at Casey and smiled smugly.

"Well, well, what do we have here Billy? A steamer going to the scrap yards and taking a stupid freight train with him!" the 904 who was in front taunted.

"Where Bob? I can't see!" the 908 replied, since he was backwards he could only see the train that sat behind Casey.

"He's right beside me you idiot!"

"All I see is a train of fruit and livestock."

"Here Stupid, let me pull you up so you can see him." And with that, the two diesels moved forward so that Billy could see Casey, not was not amused by their stupidity.

"OH! I see him now Bob, Hehe yeah, he's definitely going to commit suicide so that management won't have to scrap him!" The two diesels laughed haughtily and pulled away. When they were gone, Casey sighed.

"This is going to be a loooong trip" he said quietly.

"Don't worry Casey, at least it'll be quiet when we get out to the main line." called in Marcellus. And for the most part, he was right. When they made it out to the main line they didn't really see anybody except for a few cars, trucks and buses. In Mississippi of the day after, they came across a railroad crossing that Casey couldn't help but smile. Here, he completely destroyed a horrid semi-truck he cherished the memory, even the diesels hailed him as a hero at the time.

_Somewhere in Mississippi, January 25, 1944:_

World War II was a life saver for steamers like Casey, the diesel productions have really slowed to almost a halt because the military needed the fuel far more than any railway. This night was uncharacteristically stormy with snow blowing everywhere. Casey could barely see a hundred yards in front of him. However, he did see a bright side by side pair of lights, no engine, not even diesels had lights like that so it had to be a truck of some kind. He slowed down just in case this truck was planning to cross the line, and in fact, the truck did, but then it stopped, right on the line. By this point, Casey's headlight illuminated and immediately he knew who that truck was: Bernard.

Bernard was a 1944 Peterbilt 270 who worked for a nearby manufacturing plant. His travels often get him near Southern Rail lines, and boy was he a total bastard to the trains, he always berated them and taunted about how trucks will take over the delivery industry. Casey loathed this guy, for he always said the meanest stuff to him in particular. When he saw the tin can on wheels he smiled evilly and rapidly picked up speed and blew his whistle four times triumphantly. Bernard's tire has blown and now he was stuck and he can't move, the driver called Triple-A, but as soon as he saw and heard Casey, he jumped out the truck and ran off, leaving Bernard totally helpless in the slippery crossing.

"PAYBACK'S A BITCH AIN'T IT BERNIE!?" Casey shouted, and he blew his whistle one more time he smashed the truck right off the crossing and onto the gravel beside the tracks. Casey's pilot was slightly bent, but it was worth it to finally be rid of that wicked truck.

_1952:_

Casey never regretted freeing his fellow locomotives from the stupidity of Bernard, after all these years he can still see several parts that were left behind in the cleanup. Although he does regret the method, Bernard just didn't know better. He looked ahead, the weather was perfect, the tracks were clear, the signal shined green, and Marcellus pulled the lever to let the old boy go faster and faster. They neither were virtually unopposed nor greeted the rest of the day and as night came, they stopped in a siding in Louisiana. As the crew met up with the conductor in the caboose, the fire was put out and his boiler cleaned, all he can see ahead of him was the dark horizon. He also knew that next thing tomorrow morning, he'll be off of Southern Lines and onto the Southern Pacific lines for the first and only time, he'll have to make it as memorable as possible. He closed his eyes and hoped for a good sleep.

When he woke next morning he could see the sun has yet to appear over the horizon, yet its morning light shone beautifully, orange and blue, always lovely. About thirty minutes later, his crew came to light his fire, as he built up steam, Marcellus came to the pilot to check on him.

"Don't worry about me son, I can handle it." Casey told him.

"I still don't know why they even asked us to even go all the way out to California, it just ain't natural to send one engine across the entire nation."

"I know, but somebody's gotta do it." And with that, a gentle flow of steam exerted from the blow valves.

"Let me know if something's wrong." And soon enough they were off again. It had only taken a couple of hours for them to cross the border from Louisiana into Texas, and things were surprisingly quiet, until he got close to Dallas, then there were trains EVERYWHERE! It was like going to Alexandria for the first time again, only bigger.

"Well, I guess what they say is true, everyth'n IS bigger in Texas." Marcellus chuckled a bit, he originally came from Texas so it was a big welcome home refresher to him. Barry was just indifferent; he came from Miami so he didn't see what the big deal was. Soon enough, a Cotton Belt Route freight train rushed past with a friendly whistle greeting. He got a lot of that from the steamers and even a couple of the diesels as he rolled through town into the yard. It was like chuffing into Atlanta when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets won the College Football National Championship in 1917, 1928, and 1952, pure insanity. Finally, he stopped at a water tower where he was topped off with water and coal. At that point he was spotted by a large L-1 class 4-8-4 with his emblem showing "Cotton Belt Route" with his number as 819. Casey could tell this engine was much younger than he, and far more energetic.

"Hi." he said, not wanting to be rude. The engine's smile grew very wide.

"Well, HOWDY to you too! I never did think I'd ever see a Southern Boy all the way out here in Texas!" the engine exclaimed excitedly. Yep, extremely energetic, he gives a whole new meaning to the term: "Hillbilly"

"Yet here I am, in Dallas, on my way to California." Casey felt a little awkward, it really has been years since he was greeted so energetically so he had forgotten what it was like.

"California? Oh, Tarnation! Where in Heaven's name is my manners!? I'm Daemon, and you is?"

"Casey"

"Alright then Casey, it's a mighty fine pleasure to be meet'n ya. Say, you wouldn't happen to know Scarlett would ya?"

"Yes, why?"

"I was just curious about that there overhaul that yur railway is carry'n out on her and how it's go'n." That's when it finally hit Casey, _this_ is the Daemon that Scarlett has been talking almost non-stop to him about? She has turned down multiple sophisticated engines, for this guy? Well she always did like the awkward, so it probably makes sense now.

"She's just about done with her overhaul, she's supposed to be back to pull'n The Tennessean in the next week or so."

"Oh good, now I can have her meet my Texas Peach!"

"Pard'n?"

"My girlfriend, she's just plain dy'n to see Scarlett!" Daemon seemed to have no clue about the affection Scarlett really had for him, or at least he wasn't returning it. Casey knew Scarlett would be heart broken, it's bad enough Southern's being taken over by diesels, but the one love Scarlett has, doesn't love her back. In a way, he feels that pain, for the first ten years Sarah didn't return his affection, but they had time, Scarlett and Daemon, do not. Casey can't bring himself to tell this young engine she loves him, it had to be something for him to figure out on his own.

"Let me give you a piece of advice"

"Yes sir?"

"When you introduce your girl to Scarlett, _please_ choose your words carefully, and say them twice as carefully."

"What for?"

"Let's just say that if not, you may lose a friend, forever." Daemon was confused by this. What did he mean by losing a friend? He thought about it for a moment, and then he looked at Casey again.

"I will." At that moment, Casey was ready to leave.

"Will I ever see you again Casey?"

"Maybe on my way back to Atlanta, but I can't make any promises, especially my journey comes to an end." And with that, the two engines part ways with a pair of goodbye whistle blasts.

_You know, he's not so bad, I do hope I can meet him again._ Casey thought to himself.

_Sodor: 2013: _

While Casey told his story at Tidmouth Sheds, other engines came and parked in their stalls until there were no more stalls available to plenty of other engines had to leave and find other places to sleep for the night. The engines that were in there besides Erika, Casey, and Gordon, were Henry, James, Emily, Edward, and Duck. In the shed that sat over beside Tidmouth, Donald and Douglas backed into it just in time to miss half the story. Casey was a little surprised, he wasn't expecting the other engines to come in so fast and so quietly in such short amount of time.

"Well, it seems that I have a full audience now" he laughed.

"Oh, please don't stop!" Emily quickly said.

"Yeah, we want to know what happened too!" Duck added.

"Well, how about since the twins just got here, we let Brittney give y'all a very quick recap" Brittney was a little awestruck at the moment, despite the time they have been together, she had never heard the story about Casey's last run, so she was so into the story that she didn't catch his suggestion. Donald blew his whistle loudly to snap her out of it.

"Wha-what? Who?" she stuttered.

"Care to give us a quick recap?" Erika asked.

"OH! Yeah, sure!" and with that she gave a recap that lasted for about five minutes. She wasn't quite the story teller that Casey was however, so she left the twins especially, a little confused.

"Well, I can tell y'all again sometime, but for now, let's skip ahead to when I pull into California, because aside from seeing both friendly and hostile faces, the journey was a little bore'n." Casey suggested.

_San Francisco, California, November 3, 1952: _

Casey was awed, only in select few times did he ever feel this type of warm tropical weather in November during his entire life. The sun was shining beautifully, there were brand new cars on the paved road, and people everywhere, the Golden Gate bridge was a truly awesome sight. And to see the Pacific Ocean, it was like looking at the Atlanta on a hot summer day in Savannah Georgia.

"Why didn't they just sell me to this this here railroad? I'd be more than happy to have this weather all year 'round!" he exclaimed. And for once, both Marcellus _and_ Barry, agreed with him. Now the train was supposed to be dropped off at the main station and thus, this was Casey's first big chance to meet a Daylight or two. With plenty of time to spare, he asked Marcellus if he could be washed before pulling in, but the answer was that he would have to wait until afterwards. Now he was hoping he didn't see one, so that he could make himself look presentable to the "most beautiful train in the word". When he pulled in however, he saw an F series Diesel pull what looked like a Daylight Limited train out from the station, all he could hear from her was a mocking laugh at his coat of dirt and soot. All that was left was a very small, black, GE 44-ton switcher with the number 1903 pulling another ten coaches to the platform. She looked up at him and she seemed to have a panic attack in her mind. Casey looked at her silently, the situation has now become awkward, what should Casey say? What could he say without frightening this poor diesel. Well, the only thing that he could think to say very calmly was:

"Morn'n."

"I'm sorry sir! I'll take your train right away!" she freaked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Settle down there young'n, there ain't noth'n to be afraid of."

"That's easy for you to say! You're a steamer!" And before Casey could answer, she quickly ran away.

_Poor girl, she must've been treated someth'n awful_ Casey thought, and as he sat at the station, he kept thinking about what to say to both the GS Daylights, and to that poor little diesel that seemed absolutely terrified of him, if she came back. He hoped she would, or at least do it just in time for him to say hello to her. But alas, that wasn't the case, now it was time for him to be uncoupled from his train and to go get washed and have some very much needed maintenance performed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Let it be known that I don't own Erika, Edith, Daemon and Scarlett, Erika and Edith belong to The Raging Blue Flame, and Daemon and Scarlett belong to Darthmaul90**

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Nothing Like a Little Daylight to Warm Your Pistons (part 4) : 

_San Francisco, California, November 3, 1952:_

Casey was excited, depressed, and embarrassed at the same time. On one hand he's finally seeing California, on another, it's his final run and as far as he knows he's going to be scrapped when he goes back to Atlanta, and then embarrassed because he hasn't had a strong cleaning at all since the trip began and so any Daylights he sees would probably laugh at him, or at the very least try to avoid him. He was truly relieved when he was told he was going to be washed once the trip was over. When he was pulled into the yards, his crew left to go eat somewhere and he sat in the spot virtually alone, minus the crews that were cleaning him carefully. About half way through however, someone was careless and shoved soap suds up Casey's nose. Now what they didn't know was that soot was stuck in his smoke box from the long journey, but before they could check...

"Ah-Ah-AH-ACHOOO!" Black smoke and soot flew from his smoke stack high up in the sky and fell right back on top of him, and the crew.

"Hooey, pardon me" The crew complained and and chewed him out. After that they gave him a very harsh rinsing, and then left him with only half of his exterior actually cleaned. To make matters more embarrassing, Casey looked over to find a rather annoyed looking GS-2 Daylight number 4412, she too was covered on her top with soot.

"I uh, I guess say'n "I'm sorry" ain't gonna cut it?" The Daylight glared her amber eyes at him quietly for several long seconds, before she signed.

"Yes, it is. I know you didn't mean to. But do be so kind as to not let it happen again please, it would be an awful sight if I was completely covered in soot." Her answer gave Casey a reason to sigh in relief, he had been holding his breath during the whole time she was glaring at him.

"Tell me, what's a Southern Railway engine doing all the way out here in California? Doesn't your line end in New Orleans?"

"Yes, but for some darn strange reason, here I am."

"Strange."

"Oh excuse me, where are my manners? I'm Casey."

"Edith." At that moment, Marcellus and Barry came back to a shock.

"**What the Hell?** They told us he'd be clean by now!" Marcellus roared.

"Yeah, what happened to those guys?" Barry asked.

"They made me sneeze soot all over them and Miss Edith here, by stuffing soap suds up my nose, they sprayed me harshly and then they left, complain'n somth'n awful."

"You see Barry? _That's_ why we have to clean out Casey's smoke box when the day's done. Come on, let's go give that yard master a piece of our minds!" And without Barry say a word in reply he followed Marcellus out to the yard master's office. Edith's driver assessed the situation, by climbing on top of the cab.

"Well, most of the soot fell on anything that's black, so there isn't much cleaning to be done before her next train, we can finish her afterwards." And so they quickly got down to wipe off the little soot that was actually on her bright color hue paint and the top part of her face. Of course this left her with some of her makeup wiped off too. Luckily for Edith her crew always knew out to re-apply it.

"Again, I'm real sorry for that" Casey said to her. If he could, he could apologize a thousand times. Edith found this slightly up-lifting, poor guy, his unusually long trip left him in such a bad shape, yet, he still seemed to care more the well-being of others, must be the Southern Railway culture of his.

"I told you, don't fret about it." she replied. A couple of quiet moments went by, Casey wasn't sure what else to say, and Edith probably didn't have the time to strike up a good long conversation. His chance for one fell away when her whistled blew twice.

"Well Mr. Casey, I'm afraid I must be off, do take care of yourself." And she puffed away before he could reply.

"I will Edith, I will."

_Sodor, 2013:_

Erika was confused, by all this, what did it have to do with Casey having familiarity with her? She can remember Edith talking to her about him, yet something in her brain was screaming at her that she's met this engine before he was retired. She dared not to speak, she knew not what to say. But Gordon did.

"Excuse me Casey, I hate to interrupt, but what's this all got to do with Erika?"

"Be patient, I'm gett'n there, it's finally come back to me now" Casey laughed.

_San Francisco:_

After Marcellus and Barry got a new washing crew to come and clean Casey thoroughly, even his insides, he looked and felt like he did the first time he was fired up and steaming. And like then, his fire was burning fiercely, with so much steam his crew kept having to open the steam release valves. Now there was a deal made by Southern and Southern Pacific to have him help pull one Daylight train before going home with a freight train full of various materials. Casey was told before that he would be helping another engine but he wasn't sure who, all he knew was that the train he was pulling was on "track 3" to take a Coastal Daylight to Los Angeles. When he got there, he saw the coaches, but no engine, so he got himself turned around and he backed into the coaches, hoping people wouldn't notice. He was right, they were too busy talking to each other to take a gander at the completely out of place KS-1 class freight engine. The coaches did however.

"Who's this old piece of junk? Don't tell us that this is the engine that's supposed to help pull us! He doesn't even belong in our presence!"

Casey ignored them, sometimes the freight cars would laugh and be troublesome so he knew better than to talk back to the snooty coaches. Moments later, he saw a pair of EMD E-7 diesels with Daylight ivory roll up back-to-back and they were shocked at the sight of Casey.

"What is this? Why is there an old tea kettle on _our_ line, touching _our_ coaches!?" they shouted.

"Oh, great, just great, I'm stuck with a pair of nit-wit diesels." Casey groaned to himself.

"This is unacceptable! Disgraceful! I refuse to be near that pile of scrap metal!" the diesel in the back protested. Little did they know, the controller was standing on the platform to explain the situation to the diesels. Casey didn't reply, he just glared at them. The diesels became so angry that somehow both of them blew a fuse. Casey snickered to himself, it was the first time he's seen that, but it still didn't compete with how funny Joe's primer being exposed was. The controller was furious with the two diesels, he quickly sent for a switcher engine to take these two to the shop to have their fuses replaced. He then turned to Casey.

"While I don't doubt your strength Casey, I do doubt you know the route. I'll set up for you to meet and join Edith in San Jose, her train is set to go to San Diego, Los Angeles is just on the way. So that you guys get there early to prevent her train from being late, I'll make sure your route is straight and you have nothing but green signals!"

"Yes sir. Get in quickly please passengers!" Casey blew his whistle long and loud. The passengers first looked ahead with confusion, but when they saw a switcher diesel pull the Daylight E-7s away, it made sense now, so they quickly filled in. Soon enough the signal changed to green and as soon as it did the conductor signaled for the journey to begin. Casey, pulled out of the station in a cloud of steam, and truth be told, he was very nervous, he hadn't pulled a passenger train since the night that earned him his nickname, but he remembered one thing, he had to be extra careful, and smooth. Two things he wasn't particularly strong in. During the journey to San Diego, he had a few bumps here and there, mainly from the coaches being careless. There were many curves so Casey couldn't go as fast as he was hoping.

"Good, grief, how do them Daylight girls do it?" he asked himself. And then finally, a long straightaway came into view. Finally, he can go top speed now! Marcellus pulled the lever back, Barry threw more coal into the fire. Casey felt so strong he could push a fighting Big Boy backwards, he blew his whistle despite there being absolutely nothing in front of him. It was time for one more accomplishment in his long career. He could hear Marcellus calling out to him.

"Easy there Casey, we still have time!" But Casey didn't slow down until he could barely see the station in San Jose about three miles away. As the station came closer, Edith's train was now in view, along with a pair of switches. Marcellus brought the entire train to a halt just before them, while Barry let off steam.

"Hey, how are we go'n tell out train from Edith's?" Barry asked. Marcellus thought about it for a moment, how does one tell whose coaches from whose? He pulled out his neckerchief to wipe off his face when it hit him.

"Tie this to the pin of the first coach while I flip the switch. And tell the conductor to set the brakes." The two men set out to do their stuff, while Marcellus set the switch another man came to him, it was probably Edith's conductor.

"Are you guys the train from San Francisco?"

"Why yes, we are."

"Oh good, you're early, the passengers are getting restless. What do you suggest we do?"

"Well, my plan is to disconnect Casey from the train, let Edith back into it and have Casey join up with her for a doubleheader."

"Sounds good, I'll inform her crew right away, oh wait! Who leads?"

"I think Edith should, she knows the route."

"Okay, I'll go tell them!" As the man ran off Marcellus walked back to Casey to check the guages, to his surprise, he found that Casey needed a lot of water. He called to Barry and told him to uncouple the coaches and help guide Edith back so that he can take Casey to a water tower. And so he did, it took them a few minutes to get set up at the water tower and as he filled up he watched Edith struggle a bit to pull her train back to the platform.

"I hope you can keep up with her Casey."

"Watch me!"

The time it took to fill Casey up and get he and Edith positioned the way that was planned took a total of twenty minutes. Like Marcellus, Edith was also not so sure of how well Casey could keep up to her, but the decision has been made so she said nothing, she just had to remember that he was there. With restless passengers and careless coaches, they slowly pulled out of the station. The two engines were rather quiet for the majority of the trip, it gave Casey time to think about how wonderful would it be if Southern would just sell him to this railway, but the thought of being on the other side of the country from Cassidy, and Sarah, the joy turned to home sickness. About ten miles away from Los Angeles, Edith finally spoke up.

"So, how are you enjoying the Daylight run?"

"Oh, it's real nice and all, but, I'm kind of split. On one hand, I miss my sister and my girlfriend, who were sold to different railways a long time ago, on the other, when I go back, they'll retire me and most likely scrap me."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Edith knew just what it's like to lose someone you love, her sister Elena died in a wreck years ago. She started to cry at the thought of seeing her being taken to the scrap yard.

"Did, did I say someth'n to upset you?" Casey asked.

"No, I just know how you feel." And that was that, neither one of them talked again until they pulled into the Union Station of Los Angeles. They spent several minutes trying to sort out the train, and when they got done with that, Edith said "goodbye" and chugged out of the station to San Diego. Casey looked around, it was a lovely station, he could see plenty of hustle and bustle, and trains too, most of them were pulled by diesels, except for one on the other side of the platform. It was a GS-4 4-8-4 Daylight and her number was 4449. This one looked much younger than Edith and her eyes were blue too, she was gorgeous. She seemed to pay him little mind, her signal was red and her passengers were still dilly dallying to get inside the train. Casey cleared his throat so to speak and decided to try to strike up a conversation.

"Uh, afternoon ma'am." She looked over to him with not much interest.

"Hello."

"I'm Casey, I come from Southern Railway." His voice was a dead giveaway, it was so deep, he couldn't have meant Southern Pacific. This sparked a little interest in the Daylight, maybe he could help the time it's taking the passengers to board and the track to clear.

"I'm Erika, the Most Beautiful Steam Engine in the World."

"Very well then Erika, it's nice to meet you, I see there are a lot more steam engines around here."

"What do you mean? I thought Southern was a big railway."

"It is, but the problem is that they're try'n to go complete dieselation, I'm afraid I'm on my last run." This caught Erika's complete attention, the South is trying to advance itself faster than anyone? She was always told southern humans were stuck in the past, is his railway trying to prove the rest of the nation wrong?

"How quickly are they moving the diesels in?"

"Quicker than anyone, Marcellus done told me that they're expected to completely take over by next year." That piece of news was horrifying to Erika, she knew the diesels were moving in but not _that_ fast. What's going to happen to the steamers of that railway? Would the South preserve them for museums, or just scrap all of them?

"Why? Why do they think diesels are better than us?"

"I don't know Miss Erika, I don't know. But, keep your spirits up, you never know when people change their minds about someth'n." Erika smiled, but she still wasn't so sure about his claim. People may be unpredictable, but when they make an advancement, they hardly turn back. A little while later, Casey's train was switched for his freight train home, and Erika got the clearance to leave.

"See ya around Casey, it was nice meeting you!"

"So long Miss Erika, take care of yourself ya hear?" Casey smiled as she blew her whistle in acknowledgement through the horizon, but his smile soon faded, the reality was that now he's basically going all the way to the other side of the country, just to be retired and most likely scrapped. Why must life be so cruel sometimes? It's bad enough that his retire is just over the horizon, but now he knows that he's never going to see Cassidy, nor Scarlett. He can remember when the young lady first came to the line, she was so energetic and so full of life, and an absolute love for running The Tennessean. And then there's Sarah, the love of his life, he knows that she's probably heartbroken enough just being apart from him, but the thought that he could be scrapped will devastate her. Casey didn't want that to happen, but he had no choice but to face reality, and pray for a miracle.

His trip home was a long, quiet one, he managed to see Daemon about to leave for Memphis, but Casey never said "hello" to him, he didn't have the will power to do so. In Mississippi, he stopped at a signal and to his left, he saw the most depressing reminder of his fate. What he saw, in a junk yard was a very young but sadly totaled car being picked up by an orange crane to be crushed and made into something else. The car looked at him, and Casey could tell he was about to cry, poor guy, he never got a chance to truly enjoy life. As the car was crushed, Casey shivered on his wheels with the thought of soon that could very well be him to be crushed and then melted down.

_Worthless, that's all I am, just, worthless_

The thought swirled around his mind all the way back to Georgia, even at night when sleep was evidently trying to move in on him. Along the way, lots of diesels tried to make fun of him, but he didn't care anymore, he knew their time will come just as his has now. He dropped off his train in the yard and left, never to return again. His crew backed him into a single stall shed, cleaned and oiled him him thoroughly, said their goodbyes, and then the crew left him to their new assigned diesels. For three weeks, Casey sat there, alone, and untouched, until one day, the door was opened and in front of him, was a black, white and yellow switcher diesel number 2313. It was Wally, Wally was a kind and caring engine, he didn't have very many enemies because of this and he had taken a really strong admiration to Casey in particular. But his expression told Casey what was going on better than Wally could say it.

"It's time?"

"I'm afraid so."

Wally slowly hooked himself up to Casey and pulled him out of the shed to take to the scrap yard.

_Sodor:_

"Preposterous! If you were supposed to be scrapped, that what are you doing here in front of us?" came an all to familiar voice, it was Spencer, who had snuck in next to the sheds.

"Keep listen'n and you'll find out Mr. Silver Sandwich." Casey replied. If Spencer was going to interrupt at least say "excuse me" first.

_Atlanta Georgia, December 7th, 1952:_

The weather in North Georgia is known to be almost completely unpredictable, this day, it was an early snowfall that rose to be 6 inches deep. It was beautiful, but still very cold, the crews were out and about, doing their usual work, but some were mourning the losses of the attack on Pearl Harbor that happened eleven years ago as they did their work. The diesels, while respectful to their crews, cheered as they saw Wally taking Casey to his death. Casey paid them no mind, they will face the same fate when something that's better than them comes around. Wally could tell the pain he was going through and truth be told he didn't want the Alco to go, so he had a plan, a plan that only his own crew knew of and were willing to go through with it. When they got to the scrapyard, he looked around as his engineer jumped out. When he saw that nobody else was around, he spoke quietly.

"Psst, Casey."

"W-what?"

"Don't worry, I have a theory and a plan to save you." Casey wasn't sure but he "lent an ear" so to speak, he learned a long time ago that listening can very well be beneficiary.

"There's a small shed that's just big enough to fit you in, nobody goes there, I can hide you in there long enough for someone to come and save you."

"Why would anyone want to save me?"

"Well, I have a theory, humans have a thing for old stuff if it is old enough, they want to preserve it. My theory is that if we wait long enough, somebody is going to come here looking for an engine to rescue and restore, that's how I can save you." It was indeed an interesting idea, it was true too, humans do have a thing for preserving really old stuff if it's valuable. but there was a great big risk.

"What if we get caught?"

"We wont, like I said, nobody goes to that shed. It's worth a try." As crazy and dangerous as it sounded, Casey knew Wally was right, it was indeed worth a try, it might even just be the miracle he had been praying for.

"Alright, let's do it." And with that, Wally's engineer set the switches and Wally carefully backed Casey into an old, run down shed, no wonder nobody had gone in there for years. There were rats, spiders, and all kinds of problems in here, but it was better than the cutter's torch. After he was backed in, he watched and quietly said "thank you" to the little diesel that may have just saved his life as he backed himself away just far enough for his engineer to close the doors and lock them.


	10. Chapter 10

**Let it be known that Erika and Scarlett don't belong to me. Erika belongs to The Raging Blue Flame and Scarlett belongs to darthmaul90 **

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Nothing Like a Little Daylight to Warm Your Pistons (Final Part) :

_Sodor, 2013:_

The engines dared not to speak, how could they? None of them knew what to say to begin with. A diesel, risking his life to save an old steam engine. Not even Edward, who always looked for the best in everyone, could believe it, yet in front of him, on the Tidmouth Shed turntable, was living proof. Erika kept thinking of the memory of what happened in California between her and Casey raced back into her head, he was right.

"So how long did'ya hide in th' shed?" Donald asked finally.

"Wally protected me for fifteen years, he was indeed the bravest diesel I know," Casey answered. "Every now and then he would come by and his crew would oil my joints and cover me with tarp, not that it helped too much for my paint and insides."

"Yes, I bet you were a real mess in there." Spencer said smugly.

"As a matter of fact, I was, and I was begin'n to think that all hope was lost, until..."

_Atlanta Georgia, December 15, 1967:_

In the cold winter at the scrap yard, two men parked their 1950 Ford F-1 pickup truck, and walked into the yard. Their goal: find and rescue a steam locomotive.

"Are you sure we're gonna find one out here? Southern was pretty quick to scrap their steamers." One man said.

"Well, it never hurts to look." The other replied. They searched extensively through the light snow, looking in every corner, so far, the only thing they could find a few parts. As the day went on the chances grew slimmer and slimmer, finally, as the sun began to set, they gave up. The two men walked towards their truck when the scrap yard manager approached them on Wally.

"So did you guys find anything?"

"Nope, only parts."

"Pardon me for asking, but what are you looking for?" Wally asked.

"We're from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum and we're looking for a locomotive to restore and return to operation, or at least have him as a display if we can't fix him." one of the two men replied. This is it! This is the chance Wally has been waiting for!

"Uh, I know of an engine that might be what you're look'n for!" Everyone looked at Wally now, even the manager never knew of this.

"Really now? Can you take us to him?"

"I will, but only if you promise that if you can't buy him, let as many museums who can know about him as possible."

"It's a done deal!" The men were excited, for the longest time they were thinking they took a two hour drive for nothing. They quickly boarded on Wally and despite the cold, he whisked away quickly to the old abandoned shed. Casey was asleep, he was dreaming about all of his runs, his happy memories with everyone he knew. Those dreams and his sleep were interrupted with the sound of an unlocked chain. The doors opened slowly, there was an open spot in the snowy clouds and the sun shone on it blindingly, in this cold however, it felt great, the warmth that daylight brings is second to none. Casey blinked his eyes open to find Wally, and three men standing in front of him, one was the scrap yard manager, but Casey didn't recognize the two other men who stood in front of him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Paul Merriman and this is my partner Robert Soule, Jr., we've come to find a steam engine for our museum." The older of the two men replied. Casey couldn't believe it, it was the miracle he had been praying for all these years, it's finally been answered. The men went on to inspect, and figure out how hard it was going to be to move him, to their surprise while his insides need a complete overhaul, his wheels and joints were still lubricated, he can move with assistance.

"How much do you want for him?" Merriman asked.

"Uumm, how does four thousand sound?" asked the manager.

"Mr. manager, you got yourself a deal!" Robert replied.

"Did you hear that Wally? Your little theory done saved my life!" Casey cheered. The agreement was set, and on December 24, a Black, white and gold Southern Railway GP38-2 number 5223, gently pulled Casey out into the elements. When the men took the old tarp off they could see he needed a lot of tender love and care, but at least he can still move. The diesel backed out and Wally watched with a face full of glee.

"Be careful Ed, he's got a long way to go!" he said.

"Don't worry yourself Wally, I will be, after all, it's an honor enough just to meet a steam engine, but to take him all the way to Chattanooga, it's a real Christmas present." Ed replied with a rough South Carolina accent. And then he stopped, Casey wanted to say something to Wally before he left.

"Thank you Wally, for everyth'n, you're my hero today."

"You were my hero for years, I'm just repaying the favor." And with that, the two engines said their goodbyes and Ed set off for Scenic City, Case in tow. Soon enough, Casey saw down town Atlanta for the first time in years, it was significantly bigger than he remembered, and then he spotted something he had only seen in Washington D.C., a large sports stadium.

"That's Atlanta Stadium, the south's finally got its first sports team, Major league Baseball's Atlanta Braves." Ed told him.

"Atlanta Braves? Weren't they the Boston Braves?" Casey asked.

"Well, that's what my driver tells me, he said they moved to Milwaukee in '53, and the city was in a uproar when they moved here last year."

"Took 'em long enough to get one down here, I was so sick of have'n to root for the Brooklyn Dodgers or the New York Yankees."

"Driver told me the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles back in '58."

"Really? Who else moved while I was out of service? The Cubs?" Casey asked out loud.

"Naw, they're still in Chicago, and they still haven't won a world series title."

"Are you serious? The "Lovable Losers" _still_ haven't won the Fall Classic?"

"Nope."

"Just tell me what happened dur'n the time I was out, I wanna be caught up on things." And so Ed did so, all day and since they had to go very slow to avoid breaking anything on Casey, all night. Casey was surprised, the rise of the Hippies, the advancement of air travel, the invention of the muscle car, the rise of Rock and Roll and teenage voices, the Vietnam War to that point. Everything, it was overwhelming to Casey.

_Sodor:_

Many of the Sodor engines remember the sixties with grief, so much drugs, sex, and tree huggers that were bent on destroying every last bit of the railway on the island. Henry on the other hand remembered it a little fondly, it did get people to plant the trees in the forest he loves going to so much. James remembered his driver of the time being a huge Beatles fan, he would often play their songs on a portable record player as they traveled, it drove his fireman crazy half the time. Gordon remembered being vandalized multiple times by said tree huggers, they often painted graffiti all over him. _Oh, the indignity..._ he thought to himself. Douglas remembered his previous crew served in Vietnam for the B.E.F. Scottish division.

"What happened when you made it to Chatt-chatt-nooga?" Erika asked, like many people who have never said it before, especially modern sports broadcasters, she had a hard time pronouncing it wrong, much less pronouncing it right.

"Chattanooga, the "ah" ain't silent," Casey corrected. "Well, it was Christmas even'n when we pulled into the museum, it was very quiet, and small. Southern had donated a piece of land for them to use, I remember see'n that patch of line before then, and in a couple cases run'n on that line, but that's another story."

_Chattanooga Tennessee, December 25, 1967:_

While the city has grown quite a bit, it was still as smoggy and filthy as Casey remembered. The many factories that gave this town one of it's many nicknames "The Pittsburgh of the South" were shut down for Christmas. Ed stopped at Terminal Station, now called The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, to pick up fuel. In the instance, many people flocked to see the rusty Casey, he looked over to find an old, red, green, black, and yellow Baldwin 2-6-0 wood burner number 2-9. His red smoke stack was the common cone shape of the Civil War era, as was his cow catcher, he wasn't steaming inside that green boiler of his, he was on display, and on his red cab there was a painted marking that read "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Casey smiled, it was an old friend of his who used to work for the Cincinnati Southern Railway. Last time Casey saw this old legend was when he passed by the Smoky Mountain Railroad in the 1940's. At the moment, the old engine was napping, and Casey was too excited to be considerate.

"Well, if it ain't Chip, the first engine to go from Cincinnati to Chattanooga!" Casey laughed. The engine spluttered and looked around frantically until he saw the ALCO beside him.

"I don't believe my eyes! What they've been tell'n me is true, Casey! You're alive!"

"Yep, rust and all."

"Yup, it's Christmas alright! I get a rusty pile of metal as a present!" That was one thing about Chip that Casey thought was great, he always had funny jokes.

"You never stop do you?" he laughed.

"Not since I've been to Knoxville, the town is all I need for material, I just look at it and instantly someth'n funny comes to mind." More laughter ensued, boy it was good to be in this town again.

"Oh, Sarah's gonna be real happy to see you again." Casey was shocked, surely he wasn't talking about _that_ Sarah, the Mikado number 4501. Surely she's not around anymore, it may be Christmas but that might be asking a little much for. But before he could tell Chip that he was joking with him, Ed came back.

"I hate to break up the reunion, but we do have to keep schedule."

"Alright Ed, it was great seeing you again Chip." Casey called.

"Likewise, hey, don't be too shy to come back, if I were go'n anywhere, I'd be at the warm Smithsonian with Scarlett!" Chip laughed. That explained what happened to Scarlett, at least she wasn't scrapped, poor girl was too sweet and kind for that, as were most of the engines on Southern Railway. Casey couldn't help but feel awful for his steam powered brethren, and grateful for diesels like Wally. Ed noticed his change of expression, and he became curious, but before he could ask, his driver stopped him and quietly reminded him of what happened to steam. Casey could hear every word, but he said nothing, he appreciated Ed's driver being considerate and Ed's curiosity. By evening, they pulled off of the main line of Southern and came across a small, old brick station on the old abandoned Southern line. Casey remembered this line, he had a friend who would often go down it. A Baldwin H-4 2-8-0 number 401, Danny. Danny was a nerdy guy, who had a huge crush on Cassidy. Casey chuckled at the memories of him trying to ask her out, it always went wrong, he was so awkward, even when Southern retired him in '49. Last thing Casey heard about him was that he was at some railroad museum in Illinois. As they moved past the station, Casey noticed that Ed was going a little faster.

"What're you go'n faster for?" he asked.

"Oh, well, Mr. Merriman said he saw the number on your tender and did some research, he said you are now a surprise Christmas present for a steamer he said you know." Ed replied.

"Did he say who it was?"

"Nope, he told me to tell you that it's some dang surprise." Figures, why do humans like surprises so much? Is it in their nature? But Casey didn't say more. Soon enough they went through the Missionary Ridge tunnel, a nearly 1000 ft. long hand dug tunnel that dates back to before the Civil War. After going through that tunnel and on a little bit, they saw a small building with a loop and a switch that led into it. Ed stopped about half way through the loop so that he could move in front of Casey so that he can back the old ALCO into the building. There wasn't much around, except a few excited people and some restoration equipment. As soon as Ed stopped, he was uncoupled and moved out of the building.

"I hope to see you again Casey, it was a real honor to be your guide, especially on Christmas."

"Ed, you've been good to me, I really appreciate it." And with that, the GP38-2 left. Casey was now alone with the excited men who were keen on inspecting him, or at least they were until Merriman asked them to not do so, not yet, when Casey asked why, he smiled and told him that he has one last Christmas present for him. After that he told the boys to close the door and leave it so for a while. All through the day and as the sun went down he was very curious, what could possibly be better than getting restored into working order? As the clock struck 9:45pm, he got his answer. The sliding door opened swiftly to reveal a face Casey hasn't seen in years, his jaw dropped. It couldn't be, could it? It was Sarah, painted in Southern Railway green and gold, golden colored mascara on her eyelids, red lipstick and face that was just as shocked as he was.

"Casey?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't an illusion or some cruel joke.

"Sarah, you look, um, beautiful." After all these years he still had trouble at times talking to the Mikado, his cheeks turned a very bright red. Sarah's eyes became so watery that it ruined her eyeliner and the rest of her makeup, but she didn't care, she run up to Casey and rubbed his forehead with hers.

_He is truly here!_ she thought.

"I was told that, you have been scrapped." she said.

"I was supposed to, but, a brave switcher diesel risked himself to hide me." Casey replied quietly. He then noticed the men leaving to go home, one stayed behind to put Sarah's fire out and turn off the lights of the building. As soon as he turned the lights out and closed the door, the moonlight was the only thing illuminating the room. Somehow it made Sarah look even more beautiful than she already was. She looked to him and smiled, her eyes still watery, they sparkled in the moonlight.

"Merry Christmas Casey."

"Merry Christmas indeed Sarah." As soon as he stopped, she kissed him, she just as rough as ever, but what do you expect from freight engines? Casey liked it this way to he kissed her the same way, all night long. Some say the skies parted in that particular spot and a large star twinkled beside the moonlight, and some said that the famous Confederate anthem: "Dixieland" could be heard if one listened hard enough, all night long.


	11. Chapter 11: Sick Days Suck!

**Let it be known that I don't own Erika, she belongs to The Raging Blue Flame **

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_Sodor, January 11, 2014:_

A couple of months have gone by since Casey told the story about how he was rescued from scrap and where he had met Erika before the day he told it. During that time winter became so cold and snowy that he thought it was Chattanooga during the storm of 1993 again. He may have been somewhat used to it being cold during the winter but that didn't mean he had to like it. He despised the cold, it made the already miserable winters worse, but at least it wasn't raining, and the snow was very lovely to look at. Over the past couple of weeks, the Fat Controller has had him working in the Vicarstown area to help with the construction of a new extension of the main line up there and other various things. He saw Erika almost every day and he took the time to get to know her better. He always got a chuckle whenever she tried to sneak out for a make-out session with Gordon, not that he ever tried to stop her. He knew how she felt, with his own love still being restored back in Chattanooga, and back in her original black paint job too, last week he found out that she passed inspection of her internal systems, now all they need to do is put her back together and paint her. Casey has asked Sir Topham Hat if he could let him be there when she takes her first run for Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam excursion, and the answer was only if he worked hard enough for it. Needless to say, he worked his tender off, working all day and all night. This particular morning however, he didn't feel so well and strong, he felt like there was a strong pressure in his boiler, yet he had little steam to show for it, he tried to have his tender filled up but when they stopped at the tower they saw he had plenty of water and coal.

"Do you think we should have him checked at the steam works?" Brittney asked.

"You know, it might not be a bad idea, but it's a long way off. We're gonna need some help." Jerry replied. At that moment, Hank pulled up on the next line over.

"Howdy Casey, whoa, are you okay?" he asked "You look greener then your paint."

"I ain't feel'n too well Hank, I think my crew's gonna go take me to the works for a checkup."

"Need some help get'n there?"

"Naw, I still have enough steam to make it."

"Well, alright then, don't hurt yourself, I'll take your train for you." Casey was uncoupled from his long line of freight cars and he set off for the steam works. Along the way, he heard a familiar whistle.

_Really? This guy? I'm starting to think he's a dang stalker._ He thought to himself as the engine in question slowed up next to him.

"Where are you going Old Timer? Off to the scrap yards are you? Well, don't let _me_ stop you." Spencer taunted.

"**That does it Spencer!**" Casey snapped "I've had just about enough of your crap!"

"Oh yeah? and what are you going to do about it?" Little did Spencer know that while Casey was going slowly without pulling cars, his fire finally managed to make enough steam. He took careful aim and blew steam right at the silver A4. The sudden blast was strong, Spencer, being completely caught off guard coughed like someone trying to cough his lungs out. Casey then took off as fast as he could, with only half of his strength. The steam around Spencer dissipated and being the rage monster he is, he charged right after the Alco. Surely he must pay for his actions.

"Come back here you old piece of junk!" he shouted.

"You gotta beat me to the works for qualification of an apology!" Casey shouted back as he got further and further away. Spencer chased after him, not noticing that Casey blew off a whole quarter of his paint and exposed his primer. With no trouble at all, he caught up the the handicapped Alco and passed him. So much for shutting the bozo up.

"I'll make sure you don't get any help at the works!" Spencer called, and then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Well shoot, so much for get'n that guy to leave me alone." Casey puffed along as well as he could, as he went, he began to feel sicker, and sicker, until he stopped at a water tower. As he filled up, Diesel oiled up next to him.

"I see you couldn't keep up with Spencer." He said. "It's a pity you couldn't with all the stories I've heard about you and all." Casey was in no mood for more insults and teasing.

"Lay off, I ain't got time for your foolishness."

"My my, what a temper you have, take my advice Old Man, have your boiler cut out and have it replaced with a nice motor, then you'd feel much more cheerful." And with that, Diesel left him at the tower, chuckling to himself in his oily way.

Meanwhile, Sir Topham Hat came to the Vicarstown construction site on Percy to check on the progress. The first thing he noticed was that Casey was nowhere to be seen and the engines that were there were working extremely hard to pick up the slack. He immediately stepped off Percy's cab and approached the platform at the station to talk to the station master about what was going on. Hank saw him go in but before he could blow his whistle, The Fat Controller stepped inside.

"Dog gone it!"

"What's wrong?" Percy asked.

"Sir Tohpam Hat is probably wonder'n where Casey is, he left to go to the Steam Works." Hank replied. "He didn't look well at all, his face was greener than his own paint." Percy was now upset.

"Why'd you let him leave alone?"

"Because he said he didn't need my help."

Casey's sickness got worse and worse until finally Jerry had to stop him to put the fire out.

"He's getting too much pressure, the problem's got to be in his boiler somewhere." he said to Brittney, who volunteered to stay with Casey while Jerry went out to get help. As Jerry left, Brittney released all the steam that was in Casey's system and blew a long loud blast of his whistle to get the last of it out. After that she stepped down from the cab and ran ahead to set torpedoes far enough to warn oncoming engines of the danger. After that she climbed up on Casey's cab to look ahead and behind.

Back at the Vicarstown Station, Sir Topham Hat exited the building and walked back over to Percy.

"Sir! Casey's gone out alone to the steamworks, I just heard his whistle from here!" The little engine exclaimed.

"I know Percy, come along, I have a feeling that he's in deep water." The Fat Controller stepped into Percy's cab and the little set off to the rescue. Along the way they found Jerry waving his hand. At that point they picked him up and from there Jerry explained what had happened. Soon enough they ran over one of the torpedoes the exploding sound was enough to have Percy's driver slow down.

Meanwhile, Brittney heard the torpedo explosion and jumped down onto the coal, and then back in the cab. From there she pulled the whistle chord, _nothing_. She went to plan B, ring the bell that all American engines whether it be Steam, Diesel, Electric, or whatever, are built with. The sound could be heard a mile away, not that it took one to stop a slow moving tank engine. As soon as Percy saw Casey's tender, he stopped about fifty feet from it. Brittney ran back to tell his crew what had happened but as soon as she reached the cab, there was Jerry and Sir Topham Hat, who was a little upset about the whole ordeal. What will he say?

"We'll talk about the events that have transpired later, right now Casey need to go to the works to be mended." So that's what he would say. As soon as Brittney and Jerry were back in Casey's cab, Percy began to push the Alco all the way to the works. When they got there, men were already repainting Spencer's entire side, he was furious to find out what had happened and when he saw Casey, he wasted no time.

"There you are you green bastard! Look what you've done to my paintwork! I should have Sir Topham Hat put in as a display in a museum!"

"That is **enough**!" boomed the man in question as he stepped off of Percy, who knew he needed to be basically alone with Casey. "Now Spencer I know what happened, you caused this whole mess, and so, you shall do your work though February _with_ the last bit of your primer exposed to the elements." Casey dared not to laugh but he couldn't help but smirk, he knew that he had won this time against the silver sandwich, but his smile disappeared as Spencer left and Sir Topham Hat turned to him.

"As for you! I can understand you leaving so suddenly to have a checkup, but denying help from Hank when he offered? Why did you do that?" Truth be told Casey figured out pretty soon that not accepting Hank's help was a not a good idea. He thought about saying that he didn't want to leave the construction two engines down, but he remembered an old phrase John would say to him every time they would get in trouble: "The truth shall set you free."

"To be completely honest Sir, the only thing I was think'n was noth'n at all, I assumed I had enough steam to make it on my own." he said meekly.

"You probably would if you didn't blast Spencer and then try to race him when you knew you weren't at full health, that could have been dangerous! If you have a problem with somebody, then talk to me about it and let _me _deal with the problem, don't go doing dangerously petty stuff like that!" Continued Sir Topham Hat firmly_. _Casey said nothing in reply for a minute or two, he knew the man was right, much to his dismay, the stand up to a bully days in any culture are long gone. Darn the strong push of the pacifism movement.

"Yes sir, I understand sir."

"Good, now as for your punishment, I shall think of it while Victor does his inspection of you thoroughly." And with that, the Fat Controller left him, bringing the crew with him to have an extra little talk with them. Victor puffed up on his line, he was still optimistic.

"Chin up Casey, it could have been a lot worse. Now let's take a look at why you're not feeling so well."

It took Victor and the inspectors an hour and a half to search all over Casey, they found several glaring but fixable problems, most of it inside the boiler.

"Tell me Casey, when was the last time you've been overhauled?" Victor asked.

"Twenty-twenty five years ago, why?"

"I think I know what you need. You can get Sir Topham Hat now Kevin!" Kevin did as he was told and soon enough the man in question and the crew came back in.

"How's he doing?" Brittney asked.

"He'll be alright, but there only one thing." Victor started.

"What kind of thing?" Sir Topham Hat asked.

"Well, he needs a complete overhaul, and I estimate that it's going to take an entire year to do it." Casey's heart sank.

"So Casey, you know what this means do you?" The Fat Controller asked.

"No Sarah?"

"No Sarah! And your crew will rotate among different engines until you are ready to come back to work. I will not go further because I do believe that this is punishment enough."

"Yes sir." replied Casey and his crew. The Fat Controller smiled, he got his point across without having to do something outrageously harsh.

"Alright then. Brittney, Jerry, I need to come with me, I'll find you both an engine to work with for the rest of the day. Get well soon Casey, but remember what I said."

"Yes Sir, I will sir." And with that, the crew left with Sit Topham Hat. Casey sighed, this is going to be a long year.


	12. Chapter 12 How Sodor has Changed a Year!

**let it be known that I do not own Daemon, Scarlett, Erika, Peter, and Peter's crew, Daemon and Scarlet belong to Darthmaul90, Erika belongs to The Raging Blue Flame, and Peter and his crew belong to metalheadrailfan **

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_Sodor Steam Works, January 20, 2015:_

The year it took to give Casey his overhaul was indeed a long one, he missed the new Independence Day event Sir Topham Hat had planned to do every year if it was successful enough, He missed Sarah's return to steam, a Christmas Event that Sir Robert Norramby did, Hank and Conner's rivalry finally came to an end much to Caitlin's delight and everyone else's relief. But there were some parts that made the year more bearable, hearing about how the other engines laughed at Spencer for his exposed primer the entire time he had to keep it so, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum posted a live stream of Sarah's return to steam just for him and his crew who were going all over the place to do their work, Daemon has been purchased by Sir Topham Hat to help with construction of the main line in Vicarstown, and a Berkshire from Michigan was leased for the Christmas event, he came to the steam works to be re-lettered "The Polar Express", and even Edith, Erika's sister was still operating and she made a visit to the island for the Independence Day event, Casey got a huge laugh out of how she calls Henry "Her little Steam-Puff". But with all that has happened it made him want to be able to move and work again, and finally, the day has come.

Thomas, and Sir Topham Hat were standing outside the steam works excitedly. How much better does Casey feel? How does his paint look now? Has he learned his lesson? All those questions stopped flying around when they heard Casey's very loud whistle, soon after, the entire steam works was filled with a thick cloud of steam, so much so that it hid everything, but not for long. Out of the clouds chugged Casey with a very wide smile and a very shiny new coat of paint and wax. He looked amazing in the snow around him.

"Good to have you back Casey, how do you feel?" The Fat Controller asked.

"Like I just got out ALCo." Casey replied.

"You certainly look the part." Thomas added.

"Thank you."

"Now then Casey, I know you're anxious to get back to work, so there's a train of base gravel at Ffarquar Quarry for you to Harwick, from there you will take a train of freshly caught fish back to Knapford. Be careful, the rails can be very slippery this time of year." Sir Topham Hat was right, Casey, being a Southern Engine, Casey was not used to ice as like a Sodor engine was, it made him glad he still had plenty of sand to get a grip on. It didn't help that the extra long train of freight cars were not interested in hearing him sing and more interested in trying to be their normal trouble causing selves, they held back on him the entire trip from the quarry to Gordon's Hill. When he stopped at the station to get water, he noticed James was there.

"Hey James, ya busy?" he panted.

"Hello Casey, I have a few minutes, why?" James asked.

"I need help get'n up and down the hill, these here freight cars are up to their tricks, and they won't listen to my sing'n."

"I was afraid that would happen sometime, of course I will help you, what are friends for?"

With Casey up front and James coupled to the back, the two engines snorted as they struggled up the hill. The cars continued to be silly, noisy, and they continued to try to hold back while going up, and when they reached the top, they began to push. James saw this coming and he set his brakes as soon as Casey was over the top. Needless to say, it didn't help too much, but it helped just enough to let Casey put his brakes on. At that point, Casey got a chance to look ahead at the coastline, in the snow it was beautiful, the contrast between the blue sea and the snow white. At the bottom of the hill, James was uncoupled from Casey's train, and the Alco was off again.

A little while later in Vicarstown, where a fresh extension of mainline track was laid, Erika and Daemon were having a decent conversation with a Pere Marquette N-1 2-8-4 Berkshire number 1225. While their crews have arrived to start making steam, they still sat around in the shed because it took extra time to heat the water up due to the cold. Daemon was trying to figure out why a bunch of "Welcome Back" banners were hung over the shed and nearby station, and the Berkshire was just standing around talking to Erika, he too was curious about the banner.

"Are you sure you don't know what it's about?" he asked.

"I'm sure I don't know Peter, but I have a pretty good idea." The Daylight replied, deep down she did know, but why not have some fun before getting out to work? It was starting to irritate the Berkshire and Daemon.

"Who?" They asked simultaneously. The answer came with the sound of a loud American whistle.

"Yep, it's about time he got back from his overhaul." Erika said

"Again, who are you talking about?" White smoke filled the sky, the sound of puffing was now evident, and then, the answer came. It was Casey, and he finally managed to get the freight cars to behave.

"Morn'n Erika!" he beamed as he stopped at their shed.

"Casey, it's good to have you back to working order."

"Wait, Casey? You don't mean the same Casey I done met in '52 do ya?" Daemon asked, he didn't recognize the old Alco, mostly because of the green paint.

"Hello Daemon, it's been a looong time hadn't it?" Casey asked, and then he looked over to the Berkshire. "And you must be Peter." The Berkshire was caught off guard, he wasn't expecting an engine he had never met before to know his name.

"How do you know my name?"

"I heard Victor call'n you by name when you came in to be re-lettered for the Polar Express," Casey explained. "And I also hear you ended the stupid rivalry between Connor and Hank."

"While almost getting killed in the process..." Peter groaned. Nobody would ever let him forget about how close he actually came to dying the night Connor and Hank raced each other for the last time. He shivered on his wheels at the thought at what could have happened, to him and his children passengers.

"Oh, sorry son, I didn't mean to strike a cord with you." Casey said nervously.

"No no, it's okay, you're not the only one who keeps reminding me about it." And Peter looked over across the seaside with Caitlin in mind. The girl had to endure their rivalry for decades, you see Connor was originally part of the New York Central Railway system and Hank was of the Pennsylvania Railroad. They argued with each-other over piddly stuff like cats and dogs all the time while Caitlin had to endure it and and boy was she so happy for it to finally end. She was like a never ending birthday party on wheels.

"Well, the fish can't be kept wait'n, I'll see y'all later" And without anything else to say, Casey pulled away, fighting the cars as he puffed.

"You don't think the cars are going to get him into trouble do you?" Peter asked.

"Naw, he seems ta have them things under control." Daemon replied.

"I don't know, he looked kind of tired, maybe he just hasn't waken up yet, the cold is kind of tiring." Erika added. As Casey struggled to get the cars to behave again, he began to think of something involving Daemon. Something about him began to upset him, was it his voice? No. Was it his overly-friendly tone? No. Did he break a promise? That's when it hit Casey, Daemon broke his promise to him. Now Casey was angry, he could remember Scarlett crying in the shed next to him the first couple of weeks after his final run, some of it came from the thought that she was going to lose someone who was like a father to her, but most of it was finding out about Daemon's famous "Texas Peach", not that Casey knew who it was but he did not want to find out without confronting Daemon about Scarlett first. He knew he had to keep his composure about it, get to the bottom of it before chewing him to pieces over it. Who knows? Maybe Daemon already knows her reaction and is already regretting it by now, not that Casey wanted him to be depressed about it. But, Casey knew he was going to find out his side of the truth, and explain to him what Scarlett's reaction was to it. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he saw the signal turn red, without warning, he slammed his brakes and hoped the tracks weren't too slippery. But the cars had other plans.

"ON! ON! ON!" They yelled and they began to push him. With slippery rails and pushing cars, Casey slid past the signal, whistle blaring as loud as it could.

"**Help! I can't stop!**" Casey yelled. And he was right, there were a lot more cars than a normal British freight train and each and every last one of them kept pushing. Up ahead, Paxton was rolling along with his own freight train, when he heard Casey's loud whistle.

"Oh my, that doesn't sound good." he said. As soon as he said it, he could see a lot of smoke arising on the horizon, like a steam engine and to his horror it was one, Casey to be exact, and he was coming fast, with sparks flying from his wheels as his brakes are finally slowing him down. Paxton knew there was only one chance to avoid a nasty accident, there was a switch right in front of him, and he needed to be very fast if he was going to make it without injury to him or his cars. Without hesitation, he quickly opened up his throttle and sprinted for the switches. Casey saw this but not the switches, he began to think Paxton was crazy and he shut his eyes. They were going to hit, goodbye world, **no!...yes!** Casey felt nothing but a strong force of wind in his face, he opened his eyes to see the tracks were clear in front of him and he was moving slower and slower until he came to a complete stop. But what happened to Paxton? Jerry looked back to watch the diesel rolling away, cheering for the miracle of life.

"Not bad Paxton, not bad at all." He sighed in relief. Brittney was speechless, and snow white, she thought that they were truly going to die. As soon as she saw that she was alive, she immediately got up and starting praising God. Casey was panting hard, he too was happy to be in one piece.

"So, what do y'all think we should do? Wait for help, or continue on? He asked.

Meanwhile, at the signal, Paxton stopped to find Peter waiting on a red, in the same direction Casey was. The diesel stopped along side, his face redder than an apple.

"Paxton, what happened to you?" Peter asked.

"I almost got smashed by Casey, the cars were pushing him while he was trying to stop on the icy tracks. I had to sprint onto the switch to avoid the crash."

"I wondered why we could hear his whistle all the way from the shed, is he okay?"

"I think so, he managed to stop after we avoided crashing. But I don't know if he's already moved on again or if he's still there. Maybe you should go and look, you are on his track." Paxton suggested.

"Yeah, I think I will."

"Be careful, the tracks are still icy." Peter smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm from Michigan, I'm used to snow and ice." And then he set off to find Casey and his train of cars. As he slowly chugged along the tracks he could see white smoke, it was a good sign, if it was black it could be deadly. Eventually he found Casey's train and he could faintly see his crew inspecting his brakes.

"Well, I should have figured this, Southern engines don't get the kind of snow I got." With that he blew a short whistle blast to alert the crew he was there. Peter's crew, Tony the engineer and Ralph the fireman, hopped out of the Berkshire and walked up to Casey to find out what had happened.

"As soon as we saw that red signal, we put on them there brakes, but them damn cars began to push us and with the icy tracks it seemed we were never going to stop." Jerry explained.

"I see." Ralph replied.

"How are Casey's brakes?" Tony asked.

"His brakes are super hot right now, we're afraid of going with them like that." Brittney answered.

"Can we help?" Tony asked.

"If y'all have time for it." Jerry answered.

"We do, now let's get Peter hooked up to the back of the train and we can get moving." Ralph replied. Soon enough, Peter was hooked up and the two engines slowly made their way through the rest of the journey. When they finally got to Harwick, the manager of the harbor gave them all an earful for being minorly late, but when Peter scared the dickens out of the man with his whistle and explained what had happened, he changed his tune very quickly. But now a new problem has emerged, there was the fish that had to be delivered but Casey's brakes were still very hot and thus pretty painful to apply them.

"Tell you what, my train doesn't leave for an hour, that should be plenty of time for your brakes to cool off. I can take your train to Knapfford, and you can take my next freight train to Ulfstead Castle." Peter said.

"Oh, I don't know, are you okay with this?" Casey asked.

"Absolutely, we engines gotta look out for each other you know." Casey did think about it, he wanted to prove his reliability to Sir Topham Hat, but on the other hand his brakes were too hot to fight more freight cars. With much thought, Casey agreed, but only under the condition that Peter explained to Sir Topham Hat why he's pulling Casey's train and not him. With the agreement in place, Peter got himself turned around and took Casey's train. While Casey went to the yard where Peter's freight to Ulfstead Castle awaited. This is going to be an interesting year.


	13. Chapter 13: Ghosts

**Let it be known that I don't own Daemon, Scarlett, Bruce, Erika, nor Peter. Daemon, Bruce and Scarlett belong to darthmaul90. Erika belongs to The Raging Blue Flame. And Peter belongs to metalheadrailfan. **

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_Sodor, 2015:_

Casey's freight train has attempted to run him off the rails for their usual troublesome fun. After Peter, the Pere Marquette Berkshire, left with his train of fish, Casey slowly made his way back to the shed to take Peter's next scheduled train to Ulfstead Castle. When he reached the station, he saw Daemon waiting to leave with an express to Brendam Docks. His signal was red, oddly convenient. At this point Casey's brakes have cooled just enough to where they would feel hot, but not hot enough to cause serious pain to his wheels. He still winced however as he stopped right next to Daemon.

"Casey! I done heard you whistl'n from this here station from over yonder, what in tarnation happened to ya?" Daemon asked.

"Aw them there cars started push'n me when I tried to stop at the signal over said yonder, I think I done set my brakes on fire try'n to avoid hit'n Paxton."

"Esh, are ya okay?"

"Yeah, the brakes have cooled down a bit since that point. Now I have to wait a little bit before I take Peter's train to Ulfstead Castle while he takes my fish train to Knapfford."

"Well, it could've been worse."

"Tell me about it. I thought I was gonna die when I saw Paxton com'n right at me."

"We've all had that moment, don't worry none." The pair fell silent, for a little while anyway. Casey looked around, he saw there were no other engines or gossipy people around. This was his chance.

"Say Daemon, what did you say to Scarlett about your "Texas Peach"?" he asked. Daemon's smile turned into a quick frown, he bit his lip and stuttered to acquire his words.

"I-I uh" At that moment, the signal changed and the conductor blew his whistle, green flag waiving. At that moment, he quickly darted out of the station with only one thing to say. "Sorry I have to run, I'll see ya later Casey."

_Yes, you will._ Casey thought, and with that he backed into a siding to let his brakes cool off. While they awaited Jerry took the time to converse with Brittney about the near miss.

"It looks like that near miss scared the dickens out of ya, you're still shake'n in your boots" he said.

"Y-yeah, I've heard of head-on collisions, but I never imagined that I'd actually come close to one."

"As did I, but what I noticed is that you didn't jump from the cab. Care to explain?"

"Well, I, uh, I froze. I stood on the side ready to do so, but when I saw how close Paxton was, I just felt like I couldn't move." Brittney sighed. Truth be told she has never been more frightened in any point in her life, it was almost as if she suffered a heart attack on an extreme level. She was contemplating the thought of resigning her position and find a new career, but she loved railroading so much, there was nothing else for her, she'd just be a hobbit on the streets of Florida or stuck in her parent's house for the rest of her life. Jerry noticed her nervous expression and as if he was psychic, he spoke again.

"Now don't tell me this little ole mishap is make'n you consider leave'n the railroad."

"Well, I ain't gonna lie, it has."

"Now Brittney ya can't just quit after one near miss, look at me, I've been in three head on collisions on the road and yet I still get back in that old car of mine." Brittney didn't answer, she just sat down on her seat and wiped off her sweaty brow.

"Daemon was right though, it could have been a lot worse." She said.

"It's all part of the job unfortunately, now, would you like some coffee while we wait?" This is what got Brittney to smile, Jerry always looks out for her like a second father, she nodded to him. Jerry then pulled out from under his seat a pair of coffee cups, along with a cooler with bottles of cream in it. Strapped on top of Casey's firebox was a kettle full of fresh coffee, that was kept hot by the fire that burned below it. Jerry planned ahead when they moved and so about every few months or so he would order a shipment of coffee beans to him, or buy them from a store if he was lucky enough to find it in the tea loving British island. Brittney was fine with the tea but she agreed with Jerry as far as it compared to coffee. Casey didn't understand why people liked it, no matter how much creamer they put in it, it still tasted extremely bitter. He didn't care how many times his crew would tell him that it's an acquired taste, it was awful, he faked gagging at the thought of it.

"Oh don't worry yourself Casey, you're not getting any." Brittney told him as she patted the side of the cab.

"Good, it's like I get the taste of death in my mouth!" Casey groaned. The crew always found it funny to tease him with their "drink from Hell" as the Alco would call it. At least they didn't have to share it with him, more for them. Later, they pulled out of the siding and retrieved their train, as they set off Casey began to think about Daemon and his reaction when asked about Scarlett.

_It seems he does indeed regret it, good, at least I won't have ta scold him hard for anyth'n._ He thought. He still had to know if he said something without thinking, or if Scarlett overreacted a little.

Meanwhile, Daemon couldn't stop thinking about his converse with Scarlett, he cried a bit at the thought of how broken hearted she was when he told her of his "Texas Peach" and now Casey knows about it, he thought the Alco was already retired at that point. But then he remembered Erika telling him he sat in a shed in Atlanta for three weeks before being retired, so maybe she talked to him a lot beforehand.

"Scarlett, I hope you can forgive me, and I hope Casey will understand, I know he was like a father to ya." he said quietly as he looked up to the sky in the direction he thought Washington D.C. was, where Scarlett stood, with perfectly healthy cosmetics and a museum that was too skin-flinted to restore her into working order. He could remember her telling him words of wisdom that Casey taught her. And then the memory of his promise raced back into his head, he winced at the thought of Casey telling him to choose his words carefully.

_But I didn't choose my words carefully, I was a dad-gum foolish pole-cat that day._ he thought.

At the end of the day, both engines had delivered their runs and other things, Daemon sat in the shed at Tidmouth with Thomas, Donald and Douglas, and Emily. His driver was about to step out and drop his fire when...

"Excuse me, but would ya mind leave'n that fire for a couple more minutes or so?" Daemon asked.

"Why?" The driver asked. His answer came soon enough, Casey rolled up onto the turntable and was rotated to face the former Cotton Belt.

"Daemon, you still have steam in ya?" he asked.

"Well, yes, I figured you would wanna talk ta me."

"Yes, but can I talk to you just the two of us? I don't want no rumors be'n spread or none." Daemon looked to his driver who stood next to his pilot with his arms crossed.

"I won't take but a couple minutes." Daemon told him.

"You know, with how you've been so quiet all day, might as well." The driver replied, he walked back up into Daemon's cab and the two engines set off for a spot where neither one of them could be heard vocal wise. Casey was quiet the entire trip up to it, he had been trying to put his words together, and when the crews left he was blunt.

"Daemon, just, tell me, what you said to Scarlett, when you told her of your Texas Peach." And so Daemon did, and the whole time he explained, Casey was getting more and more upset, when the Cotton Belt Engine finished, he let out a big sigh.

"Daemon, you promised me you would choose your words carefully with her." he said firmly.

"I know I'm sorry, I was just..."

"A complete and total idiot! Do you realize how much you hurt Scarlett!?" Casey asked, raising his voice. "She wept non-stop in that shed we were in for two weeks straight! But the worst of it is, she was already upset of the news of my retirement when she met your girl, and the fact that she didn't get a chance to say good bye to me when they _did _pull me out, because she was still pull'n The Tennessean for a company that was determined to replace us with jackass diesels as quickly as possible!"

"Casey, I-I'm sorry." Daemon started, but Casey interrupted him again with a short whistle blast.

"**Don't apologize to me Daemon! I've already let the broken promise go years ago. You gotta apologize to Scarlett for your foolishness!**" he shouted. The pair grew silent for a couple minutes, enough time for Casey to calm down and regain his composure. Daemon just looked at the rails, with tears of the memory rushing back into his head. He looked up to see a couple tears from Casey's eyes too from his haunted memory.

"Casey, I-I know how much I hurt Scarlett, when I saw her again in '55, I have never seen anyone more heartbroken and hurt, as I saw her that day." he said slowly. "And truth be told, the moment after I first talked to her about my girlfriend, my promise to you rushed into my smokestack, and it never left me. And although you had just done told me not to, I'll do it anyway. I'm sorry Casey, I was a dad-gum fool for breaking my promise to ya." Casey remained quiet for another few minutes, at the end of it, he sighed and looked Daemon in the eyes with sincerity.

"Daemon, I appreciate that you've learned from your mistake and as such, I forgive you."

Meanwhile, back at Tidmouth sheds, all but two of the stalls have filled up, Thomas kept Daemon's open and the majority of engines have bunkered somewhere else. They were all chatting about the day, what news they have heard, and of course, Thomas was curious to know what Casey and Daemon were talking about so he asked Erika what she thought, but she was too busy flirting with Gordon to notice. He looked ahead to see the two engines in question puff back to the turntable.

"So what were you guys talking about?" he asked.

"Why do ya think we done talked about it in private?" Daemon asked as he stopped on the turntable to get turned around.

"In other words, it's just between me and him." Casey added. He looked over to the Daylight/Express to see them flirt with each other, still oblivious to what was going on, he chuckled to himself and then he gave a sly grin to Daemon as he backed into his stall, who quickly picked up his plan and grinned as well. Casey back away from the turntable and went around the shed so that while he was right next to Erika and Gordon, at the point where they seemed the most oblivious, he blew his "demonic" whistle at loud as he could, scaring the pair to no ends.

"HA! I still got it!" Casey laughed. The others laughed at the prank as well, except for Gordon, who looked whiter than the snow around the shed, and Erika, she was pretty mad that Casey had the audacity to scare her and her boyfriend so much. But Casey didn't care, it felt great to pull a prank on someone after not doing so since he first got to Sodor.


	14. Chapter 14: Scotsman

**Let it be known that I do not own Daemon, Peter, nor Erika. Daemon belongs to darthmaul90, Peter belongs to metalheadrailfan, and Erika belongs to The Raging Blue Flame. **

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_Sodor, 2015_

It took Erika a couple of days to get over the scare prank Casey pulled on her, when she did she got a good laugh out of it, it was one of the only times she's only seen Gordon look frightened silly. As for Casey's relationship with Daemon, they have formed a good friendship, often times Daemon would come for advice or ask him about the Southern Railway days. As the snow melted with the transaction to spring, the amount of trains skyrocketed as well as becoming longer and longer. Oh the American engines had the longest trains, because they were indeed the strongest on the island. One morning Casey was double heading with Henry with a long train of brand new automobiles to split up at different towns around the island for the dealers and then Casey was to take them to the mainland of England while Henry takes an express from Erika at Vicarstown.

"Just how many dealers are there on this here island?" Casey asked when he first saw the long line.

"I don't know, but I do know, we'll be at this for a while." Henry replied. The set up was that Henry was up front and Casey, who was slightly taller than the Black Five engine, hooked up to his tender and the freight cars. They made their way from the docks to Knappford when they had the clearance to leave. Along the way, Casey became a little curious.

"Say Henry, is it true that you're one of them there "Black Five" engines?"

"Why yes, I am."

"I figured, Gordon was tell'n me that you weren't one originally, he said that you were a GNR Ivatt Class C1/LNER Gresley Class A1/A3 hybrid at first, but a terrible accident allowed Sir Topham Hatt to have you rebuilt at Crewe into a Black Five." Henry was silent, but only for a moment or two.

"Yes, that is also true, it was my first time pulling The Flying Kipper. The heavy snow forced a red signal into green and the ice froze a set of switches into a siding where another freight train awaited for me to pass." He paused, and shivered at the memory. "But instead of passing it, I ran right into the back, destroying the brake van and several freight cars along with damaging myself and a few of my cars."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a bad thought." Casey said quickly.

"No, no, it's okay, it was a long time ago and as such I have long gotten over it for the most part." Henry replied. "Afterwards The Fat Controller had me sent to Crewe and with his special connections with the company, I was rebuilt into my Black Five class, and to be quite honest, I am glad he did, beforehand my design left me with a small firebox and so I couldn't steam very strongly without Welsh coal from the Great Western Railway."

"Esh, I bet that was frustrate'n."

"Indeed it was." And with that, the two engines chatted away as they shortened the train full of British and various foreign cars on their journey. It was mid-afternoon when they made it to Vicarstown to allow the two engines to split off. Normally, a Sodor engine would be the one to take a train into the mainland, but today Sir Topham Hatt was making an exception, and truth be told, Erika was jealous when she heard Casey was taking that train to the mainland, but then again, it was freight cars and she wouldn't be going out there without Gordon to show her around. However, Casey's objective was to go straight to the nearest rail yard, drop off his train, and come straight back, it would be a rather short trip. Henry told him where to go and what to keep an eye out for as they waited for the bridge to drop.

"Remember, the railway can be a bit hectic, just remember my directions and you will be just peachy." Henry said as he uncoupled from Casey. As he puffed away the bridge was finally lowered to allow Casey to cross. His journey has begun. Across the bridge the first thing he heard was a very annoying two-toned horn that made the Sodor steam whistles sound like a beautiful song out of the Grande Ole Opry. A Class 67 diesel passed by with a oil train and a friendly "allo chap!". Casey blew his whistle in return and minor-ly scared the diesel, who picked up speed without another word. Casey didn't mind, he was used to the British engines being freaked out by American whistles and horns. Another couple of hours went by and finally civilization came into view, over the time there was nothing but grasslands and individual stations where the people who were there took pictures of him. Now he pulled into a city and when he looked around he could see traffic was atrocious.

"Good grief, it's like Atlanta dur'n football Sunday." Casey said to himself. With Henry's directions in mind, he pulled his train into the yard and left it to a switcher who put it where it was supposed to go. Soon after Casey stopped at a station to fill up with water, and many people flocked to him, fascinated by the Alco. Many of them thought when they saw his "Southern" lettering and green that he came all the way from London, but others shot that down when they pointed out the cow-catcher, the bell, and the lack of buffers up front. Those said he must have been from overseas, but weren't sure where. And then, a deep British voice that sounded like Gordon's but a bit more friendly.

"He's American, Southern Railway consolidation, lovely paintwork there Old Boy."

Casey looked over to his right to find a olive green 4-6-2 number 4472. He had a name plate over his driving wheels that read "Flying Scotsman", Casey soon figured out who it was and was quick to be respectful.

"Why, thank ya kindly, Mr. Scotsman." he said rather nervously.

"Oh, you may call me Scot, and you are very welcome indeed, although I do wonder, what is a yankee engine such as yourself doing all the way out here?" Casey cringed at being called "yankee" he still hated being addressed as such, but if one is in front of a big celebrity such as The Flying Scotsman, he'll let it slide.

"Well, I was out deliver'n some new cars that originally arrived on the Island of Sodor and I..."

"You work on Sodor?"

"Yes?"

"Oh that is absolutely marvelous! I envy you, for if I worked on Sodor, I'd get to see my brother more often." The Scotsman's excitement grew even more as he talked.

"Brother?"

"His name is Gordon, do you know him?"

"Yup."

"Is he still pulling the express?"

"Yeah."

"Is he still high and mighty?"

"Was there ever a time where he wasn't?"

"That sounds like him. But do tell me, is it true that he's fallen in love with an American Daylight?"

"You sure do ask a lot of questions." Casey said bluntly.

"Well, is it wrong to be curious?"

"No."

"Right then, OH! Forgive me chap, I just became so excited I forgot my manners. Like I said before, you can call me Scot, and you are?" The Scotsman asked.

"Casey."

"After that famous driver that got a song written about 'im?"

"Yes."

"Simply astounding." Scot's interest was indeed sincere, to the point where it was barely starting to become a little creepy. But Casey thought it rather funny, it was like a young child meeting him for the first time, especially considering that the engine behaving so was one of the most famous steam locomotives ever built. Now it was his turn to start asking questions as the light turned red for both of them conveniently enough.

"I hear you came to the states back in the seventies, that true?" Scot was quiet to the question, his memories were mixed of happiness and worry, it was indeed one of the most unique times in his life.

"Why, yes, I did, I was there from 1969 to 1973. At first it was a dream come true, until the gentlemen funding the tour backed away and when Mr. Alan Pegler, the man who was at the head of my original restoration became bankrupt, many feared I would be stuck there, or worse, scrapped. Fortunately, in 1973 a gentleman by the name of William McAlpine stepped in at the eleventh hour and had me repaired and repatriated, and then he brought me home." At that moment, Casey's signal changed to green. With a pair of whistle blasts that scared and excited the British fans, he said good bye to Scot.

"We will meet again, in fact, don't tell Gordon, but I'm coming to Sodor for next weekend. I want to surprise him." Scot replied. "Oh, and before you leave, you didn't answer my question, is Gordon in love with a GS-4 Daylight?" Casey paused for a moment, and then he answered.

"Since you want to surprise Gordon, I'll let him surprise you, that fair?"

"Well, oh I suppose so, but please, at least tell me the lovely lady's name."

"Erika."

"Erika, what a lovely name for a lovely lady. Well, so long Casey, we shall meet again, don't get into trouble with the Fat Controller before I get there, it wouldn't be fun not to participate." And with that, Casey pulled out of the station, while Scot laughed at his own joke.

_He sorta behaves like Sir Robert Norramby, eccentric and love'n every minute of it._ Brittney thought as she watched the A3 disappear in the distance. The trip back was a quiet one, with the exception of another Class 59 diesel giving a welcome horn honk that still sounded like a trillion kazoos buzzing at once, very annoying. The sun had already set by the time he crossed the bridge back to Sodor and at that point the Nor'Western Daylight was stopped at the station about to head back to Knapfford. Erika and Gordon were again sweet talking to each other too much to really take notice, but Casey didn't mind, he'd rather not be tempted to blab about the surprise for the two of them. But at the Vicarstown roundhouse, Daemon and Peter were a different story, although he didn't tell them a lot of details about the surprise, he did talk about meeting Scot, and first impressions. It did indeed appear to them that he was Norramby level eccentric as well.

"So when is he coming?" Peter asked.

"He said it was a surprise."

"Do ya think it'll be any time soon?" Daemon asked.

"I do declare, that it'll be sooner than we think, but don't say nothin' to Erika, _or_ Gordon about it, he said he wants to surprise them." The three engines agreed that they will say absolutely nothing to Erika, nor Gordon, nor anyone else about it until Scot actually does come.

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**Technically, Scot is canon so I won't claim ownership to him. **


	15. Chapter 15: Early Excursions: (part 1) :

**Let it be known that I don't own Erika and Scarlett, they belong to The Raging Blue Flame and Darthmaul90 in that order. **

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**Early Excursions(part 1):**

_Sodor, March 2015:_

The winter was not kind to the old Southern Consolidation. The snow was nice to see at first but after unlucky avalanche after unlucky burning brakes, Casey was more than ready for the spring warmth and flowers. Although he had to admit, he did enjoy the visit from the Flying Scotsman, particularly when he started to embarrass Gordon by telling stories to Erika about him. He chuckled to himself at the thought of it every time. But this day, Sir Topham Hatt has requested him to come to the steam works for something special. The whole trip there he kept wondering if The Fat Controller was going to paint him black for his 100th birthday, that would be a nice change, he had almost forgotten what he looked like when he came out of the factory. It wasn't like there were any good pictures of him when he was young just laying around in Norfolk Southern's archives of the Southern Railway or even the internet for that matter. Jerry and Brittney weren't so sure themselves, Sir Topham Hat wanted to surprise everyone about it. When he got there he saw coaches that were painted in a familiar color scheme and style, he looked at the top to find no lettering of any kind, it was as if they were experimenting with paint styles. They looked just like the classic "Southern Crescent Limited" coaches of the glory days, regular green with a lighter green stripe going through the center, just with British coaches instead of Pullmans. It seemed to kill the Black paint theory, but it could still happen. He slowly puffed in to find the Fat Controller waiting for him.

"Ah, Casey, you've made it! Good." he said with glee. "Now, as you may have noticed by the poorly concealed coaches outside, I have a new passenger train that will run from Knapford to Vicarstown and back, it will run six times a weekend, one in the morning and one in the evening. But, I have a slight problem."

"And that there problem is?" Casey asked, pretending to not know what was going on.

"I don't know of any engine who'd be more fitting for them than you, what do you say Casey, would you like to pull the "NWR Southern Crescent Limited"?"

"Sir, it'd be an honor to pull a train inspired by America's best."

"Splendid, now your first train is tonight, and as such we will make some slight modifications to your paintwork to match the original Southern Crescent. Well, I have something I must attend to, your first train of the evening leaves at five o'clock, be there at four-thirty."

"Yes sir." And with that, the Fat Controller left. Victor puffed along on his narrow track and smiled.

"You must be really excited my friend, pulling such a passenger train." He said.

"I am, it's like the first time Southern had me pull a long excursion for 'em." Casey replied.

"Oh? Why don't you tell me all about it while they give your paint the changes?"

"Why not?"

_Chattanooga Tennessee, June 31, 1973_

Casey's restoration was a long and tedious, while his joints and important bolts were well oiled and thus easier to remove, it still didn't mean that it wasn't a pain to get the rest of him taken apart and put back together. Some of his parts had to be replaced completely because of too much deterioration. A test fire was performed earlier in the week with great success. But now he's completely put together, the only difference is that Southern Railway had him painted green instead of his original black, something that he was not expecting, but was accepting of, at least he would match Sarah again. During this time he had heard that Southern traded back Cassidy and her twin sister Mary, number 722, back from the Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad with a pair of RS-3's, it brought him great joy to know that both of them were safe from scrap, most of his Consolidation friends weren't so lucky in the 30's. He couldn't help but keep thinking about seeing them again when he leaves for Alexandria, Virginia, but that's another month away, for now, Casey's gotta learn how to handle coaches. And his instructor, is Sarah, who was chosen to represent Southern along with Mary for the Freedom train event that's a few years away to celebrate the two hundredth birthday of the United States.

"Now Casey, the key is be gentle with the coaches, I know you're excited to finally move under your own power again, but that don't mean you can go as fast as ya can. Just take it slow and steady, and be gentle with the coaches." She said in a teasing motherly tone.

"Oh come on Sarah, how hard could it be?" Casey asked. He was so excited that he had forgotten all about how he handled the coaches in California.

"Please just be careful with them, we don't have many of them in good condition." Sarah told him bluntly, she was by no means going to let the young museum die because of an engine while she loved, but one that behaved like a little child with a toy car.

"Alright dear, I will."

Soon after, a man in his 20's walked into the warehouse to perform a quick inspection of Casey.

"Morning Jerry." Sarah said to him.

"Morn'n Sarah, Casey, y'all ready for the big day?"

"You bet, I can't keep Casey here to stop and listen for two minutes." Sarah told him. Jerry couldn't help but laugh at this, not that he blamed the Consolidation for being excited.

"Well, I'll make sure the engineer keeps him in check." He said.

"Hey Sarah, would you mind keep'n your boyfriend from kill'n himself? I'd hate him have to be stuck with me for all time." Came a female voice from a few tracks over. It was a mikado like Sarah, but her black and white paint has been rusting away since 1965 and now the poor girl looks like a complete wreck, she was numbered 6910".

"Don't be like that Victoria, they'll find a way to fix ya one of these days, I promise."

"I don't know Sarah, it's been nearly ten years, what if they send me to the scrappers?" Victoria asked.

"They won't, I won't let them." Sarah boomed. Victoria smiled, but she still felt like she was a complete waste of metal. You see she was built by Baldwin in 1920 for the Kentucky and Tennessee Railroad, a short line that mainly hauled coal. She was bought by the TVRM in 1965, two years after the short line dieselized, to run excursions for Southern, who renumbered her from 10 to 6910. The only problem was that on her first excursion, a round trip that went to Cleveland Tennessee and back to Chattanooga, something inside her broke, and she couldn't be fixed because of the lack of parts and man knowledge to fix her. She now sits at the museum with little hope of being repaired and returned into operational service. Over the years she has formed a strong bond with Sarah and Kelly, a Baldwin 4-4-0 who was built in 1891 to work for the Savannah & Western Railroad who consolidated into the Central of Georgia Railway until 1963 when she was sold to the Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad in Stone Mountain, Georgia until the TVRM bought her some years later. Kelly was still sleeping at the front of the Grand Junction and as such she can't hear the conversation with no hope of being brought into working order, not that she was in a hurry for it, she was just happy to avoid scrap.

"You're welcome to try, but I feel like it's futile." Victoria said somberly. "Let's talk about something else."

As a couple of hours passed to let the steam build up in Casey's boiler, the three engines chit-chatted about other various things, like how the new diesels are taking shape on Southern and how there are talks about a possible merge with Norfolk and Western, and how the working diesels are being painted to fit the merger. They still had the same paint design that many early Southern GP7 diesels had, just black instead of green. They also chatted about how things were the same, like how Chattanooga was still the dirtiest city in the United States after all these years. And even the rise of Amtrak and how in a pair of short years they have completely taken over the passenger rail system in the U.S. despite the fight with the interstate that President Eisenhower signed to have build in the mid-50's. When Victoria was about to bring up another subject, Casey's pressure relief valve opened suddenly, he was fully steaming and ready to work. It felt good to finally be able to move under his own power, the warmth of the fire and steam was like he had just come out of Alco, not to say that it wasn't hot enough already being in the south in the dead of summer.

"Remember what I told you about the coaches." Sarah said as Casey chugged out of the warehouse, his reply was a pair of whistle blasts. His first excursion was from the Grand Junction to Cleveland on Southern's main line and back, he was to do this twice today, once in the morning and once after lunch hour. With a lot of enthusiasm he chugged to pick up his coaches while the crowds of rail fans and news reporters began to flock. Even a group of students from the University of Chattanooga (who is now the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, they got taken over by UT Knoxville TT_TT) came to see this historic event. It amazed him to find so many people, young and old coming to see him, it meant to him that this museum is special and it's going to be involved with some grand things in the future. And then, at the back of the crowd, a white truck with the Southern Railway logo on the side pulled in. Out of it came a man in a nice black suit and sunglasses.

"Oh great, the diesel pushers are here." Casey groaned.

"Easy big guy, he's just making sure everything is in order before you can leave." Jerry said quietly with a pat on the cab as the driver got down to meet him. They exchanged a few words and then they began to walk around to check everything. They didn't noticed just how nervous the Alco was as he watched the man check off his list. About five minutes later the man walked up in front of Casey with a smile.

"Good news, you passed." He said, and he could have sworn the sigh of relief Casey gave would have blown his suit jacket off if he didn't button it up. "There's more good news, if your excursions go well, we at Southern would like you to represent us at the traditional Railway Introduction at the Potomac Yard in Alexandria with your sister Cassidy next month."

"Ya mean you guys still do that?" Casey asked, shocked at the thought.

"Well, we can't do it for every engine anymore, but we do it at least once a month. So how would you like to participate next month?"

"Sir, it'd be the greatest honor anyone could give me." During his career, Casey only got represent Southern Railway for the reveal tradition once and that was for Scarlett's reveal, but to do it again while seeing a new generation of diesel, it would indeed be a true honor to his return.

"Excellent, now if you'll excuse me, I must buy my ticket for the ride before they sell out."

_Sodor, 2015:_

"My my, I didn't know that American engines did that, that's quite interesting." Victor laughed.

"It does seem a lil' silly, but it's a great way to meet up with engines from railways that you can't meet normally." Casey replied with a laugh of his own. By now they had painted his tender to fit the train he has accepted and now they had to paint the side of his cylinders and cab.

"So how did your excursions go in the days beforehand?"

"Well, I will admit the first one was a little bumpy, but when I settled down things went much smoother."

"Doesn't that always happen?"

"Tell me about it."

"So what happened in Alexandria?"

"Well, I had to have diesel assistance to make the long trip up north, and when I got up there the first thing I wanted to do was find Cassidy, my sister. Them higher-ups didn't tell her that I was alive and working, they said they wanted to surprise her..."

_Alexandria Virginia, July 26, 1973:_

Casey chugged over to Potomac yard to find that it has shrunk in size substantially since he was there in the early fifties. However it was still a big yard and there was a shed where there were a lot of tracks and thus plenty of room to rest. Casey thought that maybe he could take a rest, but the shed was gone, and he found a man standing in front of a completely tarp covered diesel, he was waving his arms above his head to have the crew stop, and so they did, right in front of the man who stepped aside.

"Are you guys the boys representing Southern?" the man asked.

"Why yes, yes we are." Casey replied.

"Oh good, we've got a problem, the engine here is having some teething troubles with his spark plugs, would you mind pushing him to the turn table?"

"Why not?

"Uh, Harry, who's that?" asked the diesel from under the tarp.

"You'll see, kiddo." replied the man excitedly. Casey quietly hooked to the front of the diesel and pushed him by the direction of the man to the turn table. When he got there he found a lot of young diesels for different railroads, not as many as when he was introduced in 1915, but there were still familiar railroads, like Norfolk and Western, the Seaboard Air Line, who was talking to a Baltimore and Ohio GP35, one from Louisville and Nashville Railway, and the Atlantic Coast Line. However, there were some major differences, the Chesapeake Ohio were gone, in it's place was a yellow with dark blue lettering that read "Chessie System" GP35 who was too busy talking to the L&N GP 30 to take notice. The New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad was gone, and in their place, no way! A Penn Central GP38? Pennsylvania and New York Central have merged? That's about as funny as ironic humor goes, Casey just burst out laughing as he gently pushed the tarp covered diesel into place. This caught the attention of all the diesels and they fell quiet minus some murmuring among each other at the sight of this Southern steamer.

"Um, pardon me for asking." Spoke up the Chessie engine. "But what's so funny?"

"Ah, noth'n, it's just the thought of your friend over here, he's the top of the line when it comes to some'n so ironic." Casey replied as he gestured towards the Penn Central diesel.

"What's so ironic about me?" she asked.

"Well, back in my day, the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central, they hated each other like cats and dogs, and to find that they have become one company? I truly am sorry lil lady, but that's just too funny."

"Oh, that, so I've heard." The young diesel groaned. Casey was uncoupled and he slowly moved back, next to him was the Chessie engine, who noticed an engineer go under the tarp.

"What's he doing?" he asked.

"Some'n about teeth'n troubles with the spark plugs."

"Oh." It took the two men a good while to get the new diesel started, and the whole time Casey just couldn't help but keep thinking about his first day and he began to know how Cassidy felt, and how he felt when Scarlett came to town. Oh was she absolutely beautiful that day, her fresh Southern passenger green with gold lining. Suddenly, a loud roar snapped him out of his trance down memory lane, the two men managed to get the new diesel started. They then shut him off and climbed out of the tarp as to not suffocate themselves or blow the cover.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, before I present, I would like to introduce a very special guest, an engine that rode all the way up here from Chattanooga Tennessee, Casey!" A round of horn toots and cheers from all these new diesels. It was a miracle, Casey never thought he'd actually get to see this, it wasn't just one or two, it was all of them, and just for them, he blew his whistle long and loud to give the young'n's a taste of the golden age of railroading, and boy did they love it, the cheers grew so loud that people thought that the Washington Redskins had just kicked off the NFL season in July.

"And now without further adieu, I present to you, Jimmy!" And with that, the men threw off the tarp to show the diesel in a sleek black with a silver stripe along the center, he was going to the Penn Central, and boy was the representative of that railway excited. She cheered the loudest of all, but Jimmy wasn't excited yet, he wanted to see Casey, and when the turn table had him face the Consolidation, he stared with awe and wonder. This, was the Golden Age of railroading, smiling gently while releasing some light steam from his pistons, right in front of him...


	16. Chapter 16: Early Excursions (part 2) :

**Early Excursions (part 2) :**

_Alexandria Virginia, July 26, 1973:_

After the reveal event, it didn't take long for Casey to figure out where Cassidy was, she was at an old station to pick up some passengers to take to Washington D.C. and then back a couple of days later, little did she know that on the line next to her, a familiar Southern Consolidation was chugging up quietly to surprise her. When he got up to the point where he could see her always big 630, he found that she had a bigger tender than when she was in service, of course to be fair, so was his in order to hold more water along with the auxiliary tender that most steam engines have nowadays, and the tenders they have now look much better on them than the originals did. But this gave him an idea, especially since he noticed that she was gossiping with a young diesel about a possible merge between the Southern and Norfolk & Western Railways.

"I don't know if it's a good idea." said the young female SD45 who worked for the N&W.

"Well, with the two presidents be'n brothers one would think think that way, my ole fireman has told me before..." Cassidy started before Casey chimed in, masking his deep voice as best he could.

" 'My my Cassidy, what a big butt ya have!' Or at least I think that's what he done said." It worked, Cassidy groaned with annoyance and looked over to give a sarcastic comment to what she thought was another diesel hitting on her.

"Well for your information buster! I..." And that's when she saw her brother, in Virginia green ivory, and the biggest grin on his face. "Oh my Joseph Leiter! **Casey!?**" she stumbled as she exclaimed in shock.

"Who were you expect'n? Danny?" Casey laughed.

"Nope!" Now it was Cassidy's turn to laugh and she laughed so hard that she was crying a bit from it. The blue N&W GP45 diesel next to her laughed some too, she was in on it.

"Do what now?" Casey asked, confused as Cassidy laughed some more before she finally gained her composure. Were the guys telling him a white lie when they said Cassidy didn't know about Casey's survival and restoration? Why would they do that? Surely somebody didn't get the memo to keep it a secret from her.

"Wally told me about it when I came to Atlanta for my first excursion for Southern in '67." Cassidy explained. "I didn't get much of a chance to come to Chattanooga though or see you while I was in Atlanta at the time. Most of the time they had me go to Alabama or up here."

"Oh."

"Oh my stars, look at you! Was the mold in that shed so gross that even your paint turned green?"

"You never stop do you?"

"Nope, and that's why I'm your favorite sister!"

"Excuse me Cassidy, but who is this engine?" The young diesel interrupted.

"OH! Jessica, this wittle steamer is my baby bwother Casey." Cassidy's answer in her baby talk voice embarrassed the heck out of Casey, whose face was so red, he might as well have been a green version of one of those bloody nose Southern Pacific diesels he's been hearing about. The two ladies burst out laughing again. After all these years you'd think that Cassidy would act more excited to see her brother back on the rails again. Of course, who's to say she wasn't? She had this little joke planned since the day before when she heard that Casey was coming up to Alexandria to represent Southern for Potomac Yard's monthly reveal tradition that they have been doing since the yard's founding. Casey couldn't be embarrassed for too long, he was just happy to be with his sister again, and so was she, especially since she got to doublehead him all the way to Nashville, cutting through the North Carolina half of the Smoky Mountains where Mary was supposed to be. Cassidy said there was a surprise in Nashville too for Casey, something about on old friend from the 40's. But for now, she was scheduled for Washington D.C. while Casey was to go to a nearby shop to have basic maintenance performed on him such as new tires for his wheels, a boiler cleaning, joint oiling, all that good stuff. Unfortunately, Southern scheduled a switcher diesel to tow him to the shop from the station as to not break Casey right out of his restoration like they did with Victoria. It was still funny to Casey however, Southern still cared for keeping all of their stock in prime condition, no matter what, it's why it is often said that they are the best managed railroading company in the United States. Cassidy's train wasn't due to leave for another ten minutes so Casey used that time to ask something important.

"Did you get to see Scarlett on her way to the Smithsonian?" Cassidy was silent for a moment, she took this time to put her words together, her expression alone was enough for Casey to figure out that she was still upset by the whole thing.

"I did, poor girl, while she was relieved that she was not be'n scrapped, she was still very down and depressed. Some'n tells me she was still broken up about that thing with that there Texas boy." She said finally. "And to add insult ta injury, you were retired the same year. Out of all the engines on Southern, she looked up to you the most. She told me that you were the closest thing she ever had to a daddy and when they sent ya to a scrap yard, she was absolutely devastated, she never smiled again afterwards. Or at least, that's what I see, we didn't see each other too often when I was sold to that other railway." This was heart breaking news to Casey, he was also very fond of Scarlett, but his relationship with her was unconventional love, unlike his romantic love for Sarah. While he never could teach her how to pull coaches properly, he always could teach her other valuable life lessons and how to deal with freight cars that in some cases she had to pull out of getting into trouble with the higher ups of Southern, something that was rare for her. Why was life so cruel? She needs to run on the Southern rails, not sit in some stupid museum in Washington D.C.

"Is it possible for us to get close enough to see her?" he asked finally.

"I'm afraid not, the line doesn't reach close enough to the building for it." Cassidy answered somberly. What an unlucky break this was, now the only way to communicate with her is as if somebody writes down a note for him to her or if they _somehow_ have a telephone line inside of her particular exhibit.

"I can write a letter for you Casey!" called a voice. The engine in particular looked back at Cassidy's cab to find a teenage fireman waving his hand around like, well, a teenager, very enthusiastically.

"Well I don't wanna be a burden for..."

"Nonsense, I was planning to go there when we got up there anyway!"

"Well alright then, if you insist..."

The next morning, at the Smithsonian Institute, a lone Southern Railway PS-4 4-6-2 Pacific number 1401 stood alone with only a vintage motor car to keep her company. The car was still asleep, for the museum just opened about thirty minutes ago and nobody was around to see her beauty yet so she could look at her reflection in the window and reflect on her life. Was she worth saving from the scrapper? Why was she the only Pacific that Southern preserved? Why must the museum refuse to let them use her for excursions? It's not fair! She hated being here, alone with an ancient car that wasn't really too social to begin with. She began to cry very quietly, but her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a young man clearing his throat. She shifted her gaze to find a 15-year-old with blonde hair, brown eyes, and light skin. He was a slim man in blue overalls and railroading boots to go along with them.

"Are you Scarlett?" he asked.

"Why, yes, and who might you be?" The engine in question replied with a fake smile to cover up her sadness inside.

"My name's Billy Barnes, I have a letter for you, from an old friend." The young man pulled out a piece of paper that looked to have a lot of coal dust smeared on the back, but who could this letter be from? Scarlett decided to at least hear him out, maybe it's Daemon apologizing for breaking her heart all those years ago, that would at least soften her heartache, but even that was a long shot.

"Well, we've got time, so why not hear it?"

"Very well then." Billy unfolded the paper and pulled out a pencil to keep track of where he was in his reading. With a clearing of his throat, he began.

"Dear Scarlett, I know this seems hard to believe, but I'm alive! I was saved by a brave switcher diesel in Atlanta and the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum restored me into operational status. By this time tomorrow morning, I will be leaving with Cassidy to the Smoky Mountains to see Mary, and then on to Nashville, and then back home to Chattanooga, where I will be one of the engines that Southern is using for it's steam excursion program. I would be out in Washington to try to show you I am here myself, but the line doesn't go near enough to the museum and I had some much needed maintenance in Alexandria that prevented me from going out there. Cassidy is in town however, and her fireman is the man who is reading this letter to you at this point, or at least he should be. Any who I'm sorry about what happened between you and Daemon, and that you have to be in this here museum all by yourself. I do hope that some day the Smithsonian will one day wise up and let you run on the rails again under your own power. But until then, keep your chin up and hold your head up high, you bring more smiles to people and engines alike than you can ever imagine. You're one of the reasons why I still smile today, and why I have smiled for all the years we have known each other. Until we meet again, I will never forget your wonderful smile and personality.

Your's truly,

Casey, Southern Railway KS-1 2-8-0 number 345.

P.S. Southern had me painted green for some reason, I ain't quite sure what to make of it."

Tears rolled down Scarlett's face, it was better than she could have hoped. It was as if she had a whole new meaning in life. She burst out laughing when Billy showed her a picture of Casey in his green ivory next to Cassidy at the station in Virginia, she laughed so hard, somebody in the museum thought an angel just saw a man in his underpants. With the permission of the Museum, Billy placed the framed picture on her pilot for all to see, and laugh with her. But one thing he did in secret, was place the note under the driver's seat in her cab, so that whenever she felt depressed again, she can always ask someone in the museum staff to read it to her again.

* * *

_**I don't own Scarlett or Daemon (mention) they belong to Darthmaul90**_


	17. Chapter 17: Early Excursions (part 3)

_Sodor Steamworks, March 2015:_

Victor listened to the story very closely, he was drawn in by just how close Scarlett and Cassidy were to Casey. At the end of the Alexandria part there were tons and tons of questions in his smoke stack, but he noticed the painting changes have been completed. On Casey's tender his number was painted over and in it's place was a "Crescent Limited" graphic that looked exactly like the original Crescent Limited that ran between Washington DC and New Orleans. On the raised portion of his tender, "Southern" was painted on it. The Crescent and stars graphic was painted on the side of his cylinders with some gold pin striping. Now all he needed was to be rebuilt as a Pacific with a super heater in front of his smoke stack and he would look just like a guy version of Scarlett. Casey was impressed when they showed him what he looked like in a large mirror, and then he noticed he had little time left before he had to be at Knappford Station.

"Aw man, sorry Victor, I wish I could stick around and tell you some more, but I gotta get go'n."

"Don't fret yourself, you can always come back to tell me more about it." The Cuban narrow gauge replied. But to not go unnoticed, he did feel a tad disappointed that the time flew by to quickly, he sighed to himself as Casey steamed out. The Alco noticed that the coaches from earlier were gone, most likely Duck has already shunted them to the station. But all the while he kept thinking about how this will be like his first excursion, despite his best efforts to focus on the task ahead of him. He closed his eyes in remembrance of what happened.

_Asheville, North Carolina, July 29, 1973:_

The trip down to North Carolina, while a long all-nighter, was a fun one for Casey. The whole time he finally got a chance to catch up with Cassidy, and how the other railway treated her and Mary. She said that they were treated fairly well, in fact they spent most of their time pulling passenger trains all around the railway. It was fun but Cassidy did miss pulling freight trains like she used to, being able to smack and push the freight cars around is a lot more fun and character building than carefully pulling coaches. She also explained that Southern traded a pair of RS-3's in '67 for her and Mary so that they can run excursions. By that time Sarah was already flying around her old stomping grounds in Tennessee and Alabama, and they were more than elated to see each other again. But now they are here, and Mary wasn't around yet, until they heard a familiar whistle.

"Here she is." Cassidy laughed. Next to them puffed a green and silver Baldwin 2-8-0 converted Ks-1 class number 722 beside Cassidy.

"Morn'n cousins." she said, still half asleep from being woken up so early.

"Hey Mary, it's been a while!" Cassidy shouted. Mary jumped at this, why did she have to be so loud at this time of day?

"It's only been a few months." She muttered.

"Hey Mary." Casey spoke up in a much calmer tone.

"Casey, it has been a while hadn't it?"

"Yes it has, I'm guess'n Wally told you too about what happened?"

"Nope, Sarah did when we met up in Alabama. Oddly enough, that same year we met a British Engine in Anniston for Southern's 75th anniversary. Hoooey was he good look'n? And a complete gentleman with an eccentric spirit, he was such a dream-boat." As Mary explained, she grew further and further out of reality and into a dream-world, just her and the other engine. Cassidy laughed at this, just like she did when Sarah first told her about it.

"It was the Flying Scotsman, Sarah told me that Mary was practically drool'n when she first saw him. Luckily he didn't see her at the moment, but when they met, she could say noth'n at all."

"Laugh all ya want cuz, for one'a these days you're gonna find a lover boy of your own, and when that happens, I'm the one who's gonna be laugh'n." Mary declared.

_Sodor:_

Casey laughed at the memory, now he remembered where he had heard about Scot before they met on the mainland.

_And Mary was right, she may have had to wait until the late nineties, but she did, poor Tim was not prepared for Cassidy fall'n neither._ He thought. He was referring to an EMD GP-7 that the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum uses for their popular Hiwassee Railroad excursions that travels along former Nashville Chattanooga & St. Louis lines. Tim belonged to the NC&St.L in the early fifties until L&N completed it's merge with the railroad in '57, and when the TVRM acquired him they painted him in his original livery and numbered him 710, just like his original. Tim was a very nice fellow but he is rather shy, not the kind of shy that Danny had. Danny's problem was that he would stutter and say the dumbest of things to her that would result in her turning him down. Tim just didn't speak too much to anyone, which was probably why Cassidy liked him to begin with, for some reason she found it attractive, probably because she could be her crazy fun-loving self around him without any arguing. Eventually Tim opened up to her, creating a sweet make-out moment between them in front of Sarah, who would laugh to herself at the image.

Casey's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of his own bell and whistle, he looked ahead to find that they were approaching Knapford, on time. _Aw dangit, and I was get'n to the funny part too._ He stopped at the platform with no coaches to be seen or heard from, maybe Duck was bringing them at this moment. He took this moment to look around and think about how Scarlett must have felt in her early days of pulling the Crescent Limited, he remembered how nervous she looked despite the comforting her sisters gave her. And now, despite all the time as a excursion engine, Casey was feeling the same nervousness, especially when railfans started to take pictures of him in his new graphics. Why was he feeling this nervous? He's pulled passenger trains in the past, even at the end of the steam era, and people have also taken lots of pictures of him in the past, so why be nervous now? He put on a fake smile for the cameras and hoped that whoever was shunting his coaches would hurry up, or somebody to talk to would come by and help him ease his nerves. Luckily for him, the latter came, it was Gordon pulling in with his daily "Nor'Western Daylight Express" that he double heads with Erika on the same route to Vicarstown, of course he had to wait a while for Erika to arrive from her daily work so naturally he was a bit bored. However he looked over and was surprised to find Casey sitting around at the platform.

"I say, Casey. What brings you here, with new graphics?" He asked.

"Well, apparently, I got my own express now, and the graphics are to match it." Casey replied. Gordon observed the graphics, they looked classic yet enjoyable to see, it was a nice change before he got to look at Erika's tender again, but then the words "my own express" sank in.

"What's your schedule?"

"Twice a day every three day weekend, other than that noth'n much as far as change goes." This made Gordon feel a little more relieved, for a moment he was beginning to think that Sir Topham Hat was creating a rival train for him.

"What time are you supposed to leave?"

"In about thirty minutes, although my coaches ain't here yet." As soon as Casey completed his sentence, he felt a gentle bump on his tender. "I stand corrected." Gordon looked behind to find Thomas shunting the coaches, they did look lovely, with Virginia green and light green livery with gold "NWR Southern Crescent Limited" lettering at the top center of the coaches, along with names of Southern Railway's CEOs painted in cursive font below the windows, one coach for one CEO with nine coaches in total. The names were Samuel Spencer, William Finley, Fairfax Harrison, Earnest E. Norris, Henry A. Debutts, D. William Brosnan, W. Graham Clayton Jr., L. Stanley Crane, and Harold H. Hall. At that point the passengers started to flock in them like mad, Casey was surprised but Gordon was a little worried.

"Are you sure you can pull all those coaches? That's a lot of them even for me." He said.

"I don't see any reason to think I can't."

"If you say so, but take it easy."

"I will." The rest of the time they chatted about various little things, like the description of the Crescent Limited and how Casey's train is based on it. It was at least fascinating to Gordon, although he was a bit disappointed when Casey told him that this job usually went to Pacifics like Scarlett instead of Consolidations like Casey, it wasn't as authentic as the train that stood next to him looked. When it became time for Casey to leave, Erika back in and coupled up to Gordon, at that moment, the conductor gave his signal and Casey pulled out of the station. He strained at first, but it wasn't anything too difficult once he got the train moving. As Casey pulled out he could hear Erika asking Gordon the same questions the big AO asked him, but he paid it no mind, he had a job to do. _Next time, I'm ask'n someone to help me start, I'm not as young as I used to be._ He thought. Back at the platform, The Fat Controller watched anxiously, he could see the strain and, what's this? Sir Robert Norramby has snuck onto the train? The cheeky blighter! He is going to get himself into trouble one of these days. Sir Robert waved at the controller as his coach passed his office and then sat down in his seat.

_That man has far too much time on his hands._ The controller thought as he leaned back in his chair, he then also made a mental note to have someone around to help Casey get started in the future. With nobody to bother him, Casey went back to his flashback of '73, the whole thing with Mary was just one big catch-up nothing incredibly interesting, except for her crush on Scot. But when he and Cassidy finally made it Nashville, what he saw surprised him.

_Nashville Tennessee, August 1, 1973:_

When the two engines broke into Nashville, the first thing he noticed was a bunch of Louisville & Nashville freight trains on Nashville Chattanooga & St. Louis lines, of course Casey did hear rumors in '52 about the two rivals merging but he didn't think it would actually happen. Cassidy explained that it happened in '57 and that she can remember hearing about was that the engines, who were all diesel, for the most part argued and fought violently like cats and dogs. Many observers and engines inside the two lines thought the result of the merge would be disastrous, but aside from the engines having to get used to each other, the merge actually worked out pretty well so far, the engines have managed to get along despite the rivalry and they've managed to put aside their differences and work as one, kinda. But today the L&N diesels that passed Casey and Cassidy were friendly enough to toot their own horns in hello to them. However, as they passed Centennial Park, Casey saw an old friend of his on static display. It was Jack, a J3-57 class 4-8-4 "Dixie" number 576 from the Nashville Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad, but he didn't look as happy and cheerful as he used to be, he looked depressed. Not only was he the very last surviving steam locomotive from the NC, the lack of cover has left him a victim of thieves, vandals and birds dropping crap all over him. There have been several attempts by private people to buy him and restore him into working order, but the greedy park owners and politicians of Nashville denied every last one of the offers, now his condition is fading. His black paint with a clean yellow stripe was already becoming a victim of the elements and was beginning to rust.

"**Jack!**" Casey called out. But Jack didn't respond, they were too far away, so Casey did the next best thing, he blew his whistle as loud as he could. Jack stuttered and looked over to find the pair of Consolidations. Oh how he'd wish he had the steam, his bell, or be at least closer to the line so that he can reply. But he knew Casey well enough to know that his smile was all he needed Casey to see, and that's what he gave. The two Alco's blew their whistles in unison as they passed their old friend and disappeared.

"Ah, it's good to see old friends working again, but since when was Casey painted green? And when did Cassidy get her pilot damaged?" Jack asked himself, and then he just laughed it off. It was a good day to see old friends that aren't on the scrap heap, oh but how he wished that he was made for Southern sometimes, but at other times he's proud to have been a part of "The Dixie Line", even after the merger. He watched with a smile, and a small hope that maybe one day, he too will run again on his old rails. After Nashville, the two ALCos' headed back to Chattanooga. Casey was still housed there but Cassidy was housed somewhere else, so she left for her current home, leaving Casey to think more of Jack. He too had the hope that one day, his old friend would be back on the main line pulling excursions.

_Sodor:_

_But you're still in that same dang spot, after all these years and government changes in the state. I'm start'n to lose hope for your future old friend._ Casey thought to himself as he rolled to a stop at the next station for a signal. At the platform some railfans took notice of Casey's appearance and immediately pulled out their travel cameras to take loads of pictures of him and his new graphics. Casey didn't bother to "pose" for them, he was too busy thinking about Jack and his Louisville & Nashville friend Jared, like how Casey would tease them in a brotherly love kind of way about them being best friends on a pair of railroads where the rivalry was so bad, it would give the Pennsylvania and New York Central a run for it's money. He smiled at the memory, the two of them were the best friends he had during WWII up to both Jack and Casey's retirement, oddly enough, both of them were retired in '52, although Jack was retired before Casey was. His thoughts were interrupted as Donald and Douglas double-headed a freight train as usual, they gave their usual greeting whistle blasts as they approached, Casey replied.

"I see ya got some new grraphics!" Donald observed.

"They be verry become'n of ya." Douglas added, but before Casey could answer, the signal changed and the twins were already far past him. He sighed and pulled out. Well, back to getting used to having new changes pointed out to him, just like the 70's and 80's.

* * *

**Jack is an engine with 2 owners, Darthmaul90 who also owns Scarlett and Jared (Jack's friend from L&N), and myself. **


	18. Chapter 18 Out of Place (part 1)

_Sodor, March 2015:_

Unlike at Knappford Station, Casey had no trouble getting his trains stopped and started again at various stops on his way to Vicarstown after the signal where he saw Donald and Douglas. It must have been his nerves getting to him at Knappford, making the coaches seem a lot heavier than they actually were. However, his train was like The Tennessean, a named Passenger on Southern Railway that wasn't as big as the Crescent Limited or The Southerner, this meant that he had to make a few extra stops that Erika and Gordon didn't have to make. Combine that was the fact that he wasn't as fast as Gordon, much less Erika and he was passed by them with the Nor'Western Daylight, not that he minded it. At least it wasn't Spencer, his boiler pressure rose at the thought of the silver A4. Why does he have to be so rude? So inconsiderate, egotistical, and mean spirited. Casey's boiler pressure rose tremendously as he kept thinking of that dirty-rotten-no good...

"Take it easy Casey." Jerry called with a pat on the cab. "You keep this up and you'll plum explode."

"Wha-? Oh, sorry, been think'n." Casey replied.

"Of Spencer?"

"Yup, he's so aggravate'n he makes Joe look like'a softy."

"Don't worry about him, he's just a glutton for attention." Jerry reassured with another soft pat on the cab.

"Why not think of something funny, like what you were telling me about in '91." Brittney suggested. Casey laughed at this, in November of 1991 the merge between Norfolk and Western and Southern to form Norfolk Southern was a year old at the time and there was a little excursion in November of that year between Chattanooga and Atlanta. Sarah was going to be there obviously, along with two visitors from Norfolk and Western. The Southern engines were unpleasantly surprised when they found out one of the visitors was Madison, the J-class number 611, especially when they found out she was just as egotistical as she was at the end of the steam era. However the other visitor put her in her place by having Sarah lead the excursion all the way to Atlanta. It remains one of the funniest moments in recent memory for Casey.

"I'll have to tell Daemon about it, after all, who wouldn't want to know a funny story about their loved ones?" he said to himself. Shortly after the confrontation the two engines had a month ago about Scarlett, Daemon told Casey that the girl he chose over her was Madison. At first Casey was very upset and angry about it until the Cotton Belt explained why he fell for her to begin with. It didn't make sense to Casey until Daemon got the the part about The Great Nashville Disaster of 1952 where a good friend from the Nashville Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad died in the crash along with more than one hundred and twenty people. At that point it made sense to Casey, who remembered hearing about it the next day while he was on a branch line in Knoxville. To this day that disaster shivers Casey to his core, even more so than The Great Train Wreck of 1918, a disaster that he had the displeasure to witness from a red signal three hundred yards away, oddly enough it involved the same railroad on the same line. It took until the early days of World War Two for him to even consider returning to Nashville. But what made him ease up to the city is another story.

Casey noticed that he was approaching Vicarstown Station as day turned to night, so he slowed down to stop easier. Needless to say he got a strong flush of wind when Erika and Gordon rushed back to Knappford with their express.

"Sheesh, if I didn't know better, I'd say those two were determined to get there ASAP so that they can spend more time lip-lock'n." Casey muttered to himself. Of course, that little statement wasn't out of the ball park but maybe he was overreacting a bit. Either way he got a good laugh out of the idea and he remembered doing something similar thing with Sarah in the steam era. Good times. He was so distracted by his memories of the steam era that he didn't notice the stop at the station and the departure for the roundhouse there. It was only after his fire was dropped that he snapped out of his day dreaming.

"Oh, is the day over already?" he asked to nobody in particular.

"Yup, and yous looked like you was plum outta it." Came a familiar voice. Casey looked over to find Daemon sitting around with his fire already dropped; his crew were still lubricating him. Hank and Peter (the Perre Marquette Berkshire number 1225) were there as well.

"Ah, sorry boys, I was just think'n of the weird stuff I saw in the eighties excursions among other things."

"Like what?" Hank asked.

"Like some of the engines that Southern leased for excursions, boy was the management bold in those days." Casey laughed. "Like Hunter for instance, he was originally a Chesapeake and Ohio K-4 Berkshire..."

"Kanawha." Peter spoke up.

"Pard'n?"

"C&O called their Berkshires "Kanawhas" after the Kanawha River in West Virginia."

"Oh, oh yeah, now I remember, heh, he'd get so bent outta shape whenever someone would call him a Berkshire, it was pretty funny." Casey chuckled to himself.

"Sounds like a pretty uptight guy." Daemon observed.

"Actually, he was pretty laid back and optimistic despite that, when we first started make'n that mix-up it was a force of habit, but eventually it turned into teasing. We'd often call 'em "Mr. Berkshire"."

"Okay, I don't wanna miss this story." Hank laughed.

"Why not tell us what happened, and maybe about the other engines Southern leased for the eighties." Peter suggested. Casey was a little disappointed, he wanted to boast to Daemon about the fall of '91 but the early eighties were indeed an interesting time all the same, why not tell these boys about that time period?

"Well, alright then, but before I talk about Hunter, I'm gonna talk about another pair of out of place steamer that came for Southern's excursions. The first guy came from Texas."

_Savannah Georgia, November 1977:_

On this early fall morning, Casey sat around awaiting his crew to come up and start him up for an excursion to Jacksonville Florida. He was told that he would be double heading an engine that Southern has leased from Ft. Worth Texas. Sarah has told Casey that she's met this guy the year before for America's Bicentennial freedom train. She said they painted him white with a red and blue stripe from the cab back. She also said the guy was nice and laid back enough, just a bit of country boy, something Casey didn't mind any more. Besides, he was more focused on what was taking his crew so long to get here to fire him up. Did they sleep in this morning? If they don't hurry up, this engine will get here to find out that Casey can't show him the line and Southern would use one of their GP38-2's to show him around.

Right at that moment, a deep whistle was sounded from behind. _Oh no, the engine's early!_ Casey thought to himself. And sure enough, right next to him the engine came to a slow stop. He was a I-1a class 2-10-4 number 610, he had a huge super heating cylinder at the top of his smoke box with a number plate that was shaped like the T&P logo on said heater. His face seemed to be rather youthful for someone who was built in 1927, however his mustache gave him a much more mature appearance. _Okay, no need to fret about crews, just keep calm and be friendly._ Casey thought to himself.

"Morn'n."

"Well, good morn'n to you too. You Casey?" The engine asked.

"Yup. that's me, miss'n crew and all."

"Jeremiah, but you can call me Tex. Your fireman is sick today and so the spare crew took a ride in me ta get ta ya, so that's why I'm so early." This news brought great relief to Casey, at least this meant he wouldn't have to watch a diesel show him around.

"I appreciate you do'n that Tex."

"Ah it's no trouble at all, anything for Sarah's boy."

Casey blushed a bit as Tex laughed at that line. Tex later explained that he knew Sarah from the Great Depression as they often met in New Orleans, and again the year before. There he also met Mary and Erika, who came to Dixie earlier that year to pull an excursion from Birmingham Alabama to Chattanooga Tennessee and back. Casey was in the shops to have his tires replaced at the time so he didn't get the chance to see her for the second time in his life and in her beautiful AFT (American Freedom Train) livery in real life. he had to settle for verbal descriptions from local rail fans and pictures taken with time period cameras that were while advanced compared to the black and white camera of the past, they were still not that good and they couldn't capture anything that takes a naked eye to fully realize it. Today however Casey noticed that Tex didn't have his AFT livery either, all black with Southern labels and graphics. Before Casey could answer to the joke, a strong feeling of heat arouse in his firebox, the crew had gotten his fire started rather quickly. Most likely they had used some of Tex's already burning coal to get him started.

"Thanks for the hot coal Tex, at least I can get steaming sooner." he said.

"Coal? Tarnation, they didn't tell you that I burn oil?" Tex asked.

"No, they didn't say that."

"Well, I don't, so your crew worked mighty fast to get you go'n today."

"Here's hope'n they don't go too fast before they put the water in."

"Amen to that."

_Sodor, 2015_

The engines laughed, they knew all too well what happens to an engine if he is started up too fast, but they found the lines funny enough.

"So how did that there excursion go?" Daemon asked.

"Well, it went fine enough, although I will admit I did feel quite a bit bloated the whole way there. They waited a bit longer than they should have before they put the water in, young and inexperienced crew and all."

"I hope they didn't break anything." Hank butt in.

"Nope, but my pop-off valve was blow'n the entire way to Jacksonville. On the way back however they got better and it was less fill'n."

"So how long did Tex stay on Southern?" Peter asked.

"His lease lasted until '82, after that they sent him back to Texas, before that he and I managed to form a good friendship. However, things didn't go well with the next guy. Not to say we became enemies or anything like that, but we didn't really become friends. The next guy came all the way from Canadian Pacific lines."

_Hattiesburg Mississippi, November 1980:_

Casey was waiting around by himself with a branch line excursion set of coaches waiting for a special visitor to arrive one special morning. The visitor has been around since the year before but Casey never met this guy, Southern's Master Mechanic-Steam William Purdie commented in a joking manner, "Now I have a locomotive that can outrun the railfans." When he came to the line from Canadian Pacific. Casey was told that this engine's name was "Hudson", kind of an odd name, especially since was was a 4-6-4 Hudson. The excursion heads also said that this guy thinks he's royalty so beware of him being egotistical. Well, Casey knew he had to run into engines that are full of themselves one of these days during this excursion era, might as well try to be as friendly as possible and hope for the best. Soon enough, a small, black EMD NW2 switcher diesel scuttled into the yard and made a firm announcement.

"Make way for the Royal Hudson! The Royal Hudson approaches!"

"Settle down son, he's just another engine like you and I." Casey spoke up. The diesel looked at him like he was out of his mind.

"No no no Casey, he's The Royal Hudson, from Canadian Pacific! We must pay our respect to an engine of royalty and move out of his way."

_And people 'round here wonder why Southern folk are seen as incompetent_ Casey thought to himself cynically. At that moment a familiar whistle sounded off around the bend. Casey recognized the whistle sound, it belonged to one of Scarlett's PS-4 sisters and it was uncharacteristically deep, probably one of the ones that went around the Virginia division. Any who, around the curve came a black, white, gold, and maroon Canadian Pacific H1c Class 4-6-4 number 2839 with a bunch of coaches, and the word "Southern" painted on the sides of his tender. He looked sophisticated, and quite joyous to be in the middle of Mississippi.

"Hello Hattiesburg! I have officially arrived eh!?" he announced loudly with a thick Canadian dialect.

_Well at least he ain't resent'n this town, yet_ Casey thought to himself. "Welcome to Mississippi Hudson! I'm Casey, and I suppose I'm the one to tell you about the main line out here and what ta look out for." He said politely.

"Aha! So you're the one who was told to inform me about your main line eh? Well don't worry about me, I think I can figure it out without any help." Hudson replied excitedly.

"Are ya sure about that?"

"Absolutely my dear peasant, it shan't be any trouble at all. I haven't had any at all on these lovely Southern lines." Yep, Hudson is very full of himself, but unlike most people who are egotistical, this guy is a lot more friendly and a little more innocent, something about him just didn't rub Casey in the wrong way in any way for some reason.

_Just wait 'till ya get to New Orleans, you'll change that thought faster than a Ford truck driver die'n in a Chevy._

"Well, I must be off, I have a photo run by to attend. Farewell Casey, enjoy a life of semi-luxury." Hudson said cheerfully and he puffed away.

"That guy needs to learn some humility." Casey said out loud when Hudson was gone.

_Sodor:_

"I don't know how his excursion went but one thing's for sure, he was too fast for me to be able to help him learn the line and he got lost on his way to New Orleans." Casey sighed.

"What happened to him after that?" Daemon asked.

"Last thing I heard of him, he was sit'n in a car museum in California."

"He's still there as far as I know." Peter added.

"Maybe 'Lil Darl'n Erika knows for sure" Daemon suggested.

"You never know." Casey replied. "Now there were a few other engines that Southern had leased for the excursion era, but I didn't get a chance to meet 'em, so we'll just skip to Hunter, the only 2-8-4 that Southern had even come close to own'n, and William Purdie's favorite steam engine that he's ever worked on."

_Chattanooga Tennessee, November 1981:_

Sarah and Casey were sitting around in the TVRM awaiting something they have never seen before, a 2-8-4 Berkshire in Southern Livery. Today was the engine's break-in run from where he was restored in Irondale Alabama, if all goes well, he will pull very fast excursion trains all around Southern's main line. Southern leased him from the Kentucky Railway Museum a short time ago. If the stories were true, then this guy was from Chesapeake and Ohio, who took over Baltimore and Ohio to form the Chessy system so the engines weren't sure what to expect from this guy.

"You think he'll like it on Southern?" Sarah asked.

"Ya know, I have no clue. What do you think Beth?" Casey asked. Next to him was a former U.S. Air Force RSD-1 diesel painted black with a yellow stripe all around her, a diagonal bee stripe pilot, and she was also numbered 8677. The TVRM acquired her and her sister Milly, number 8869, who sat next to her and looked very similar to Beth, except she looked a hair younger and she had silver eyes compared to Beth's blue, the pair were built for foreign operations but they spent most of their time switching around American lines until their retirement and donation to the museum in the late 70's. Another key difference in the museum now is that they have built a small station in Grand Junction and a turntable in the East Chattanooga end for the shop there. Any who the two RSDs "shrugged" at the question for them.

"My time in the military has taught me to expect the unexpected, but I'm hoping he's kind of crazy, makes him more attractive." Beth replied.

"I hope he's more calm and sophisticated, a gentleman if you will. I find it more romantic that way." Milly added. Despite the two being similar, they could not be any less different when it came to their personalities. Beth is more tomboyish like Cassidy, just to a higher degree, and she always tries to have fun in her work which can lead her to be a bit reckless. Milly is more of the type of girl one would expect from the 50's, always careful and more self conscious about things. Suddenly, a deep whistle could be heard followed by some loud chuffing.

"He's here!" Beth cheered with excitement. And in came a large 4-8-4 with two tenders, Southern graphics all over him, and a red Southern caboose in tow. He came closer and closer until finally he rolled to a stop in front of the engines. It's true, Berkshires were big, but this one was young and one could tell this guy was excited by the expression on his face, yet he was still pretty calm.

"Hello everyone." He said.

* * *

**Again, I don't own Daemon, he belongs to Darthmaul90, As for Peter and Jeremiah, they belong to metalheadrailfan. Erika and Madison (mention) belong to The Raging Blue Flame **


	19. Chapter 19: Out of Place (part 2)

_Chattanooga Tennessee, October 10 1981:_

"Welcome to Chattanooga, I'm Casey, and this is Sarah, and the twins here are Beth and Milly" Casey said the the newly arrive Berkshire, the other engines gave their greeting as he introduced them.

"Thank you, my name's Hunter, I'm a Chesapeake and Ohio K-4 Kanawha that your railway has leased from the Kentucky Railway Museum." Hunter said proudly.

"Kanawah? We were told that you were a Berkshire." Milly said confused. What in the world _is_ a "Kanawah"?

"Technically, I am, but C&O called us Kanawhas after a river." Hunter explained, Sarah noticed a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Sorry, they didn't mean to offend you." she said.

"Oh don't worry about it, but do keep that in mind." Hunter laughed.

"We'll try to, but we can't make any guarantees until we've said it enough."

"I understand."

"So how are you enjoying the South?" Casey asked.

"It's amazing, the fall colors, the slightly cool wind in my face, and when I came out of Irondale, I felt better than I did when I first rolled out of Lima." Hunter answered, giddy as a school boy. "It's no wonder Southern got the best reputation out there, the care and attention they gave me is second to none. Although I will admit that it is a little weird wearing these Southern graphics, I don't know if they suit me."

"They suit you in my book big boy." Beth replied, with a hint of seductiveness. It made Hunter a little uncomfortable as he backed up a puff or two.

"Aw don't worry about Beth, she doesn't bite...hard." Milly laughed.

"Oh please, if anyone around here is going to bite it's you Mil." Beth countered.

"Alright girls, y'all are scare'n our guest." Casey scolded.

"No it's alright, I just wasn't prepared for it is all." Hunter butt in, and then he got a gentle pat on his cab. Already? He'd barely gotten to know these engines and now it's time to go back to Alabama? Lame. "Well, I guess it's time for me to go back, after all it is a break-in run."

"Ah don't worry about it, we've all gone through that. But don't be afraid to come back now ya hear?" Casey replied.

"I'll be back tomorrow, and my first excursion's a round trip from here to Rockwood, so you guys will see me again." Hunter replied as he backed out of the junction.

_Sodor, 2015:_

"If he felt so great, how come his excursion career was short? Did it become too uneconomical for Southern to run him?" Peter asked. He knew all too well about how short Hunter's excursion career was but he wasn't sure why.

"Well, it wasn't exactly that, Southern used him a lot. But soon enough, problems began to emerge, problems that would be too expensive to fix to this day."

"What kind of problems?" Hank asked.

"Well, let's begin with where he started to not feel well."

_Atlanta Georgia, April 1982:_

"I don't feel too good Casey, I feel very hot at the top of my firebox and a little weak everywhere else." Hunter complained.

"Do you need help go'n back to Memphis?" Casey asked.

"I don't think so, maybe it's just the water being stubborn today, it's not exactly warm out yet."

"But it ain't that cold out, and you spent so much time in northern winters, it can't be that."

"You never know."

"If you say so Mr. Berkshire." Casey laughed while Hunter growled.

"Oh come on, I've told you guys over, and over, and over, I'm a Kanawha!"

"We know that Hunter, I'm only joke'n with ya." Casey laughed some more, and even Hunter managed to get a chuckle out of it, when they had gotten done with that the conductor waved for the start of the journey home.

"Well, I guess it's time I head out, take care of yourself Hunter." Casey said with a pair of whistle blasts, Hunter replied with a short blast of his own as he watched the Consolidation pull out of the yard.

As time went on, Hunter's condition continued to deteriorate, He's been looked at multiple times by engineers and yet they couldn't find anything wrong. Until, one day...

_Birmingham Alabama. July 1982:_

Hunter couldn't believe it, he wasn't even in service for an entire year and the newly formed Norfolk Southern engineers have found a major problem in him. They had found a bunch of major cracks in his firebox, in the steam era that could have resulted in scrapping, depending on how sever it was, but in this age, it would put him on static display because it is a difficult and very expensive repair. The news threw him into a new line of despair, one that was similar to when C&O retired him in 1959 and scrapped most of his brothers and sisters in 1961.

"Why me? Why me? I didn't even get a chance to really show them what I was made of." He sobbed. Life just wasn't fair to him and the engineers really felt for him.

"I'm sorry Hunter, there's not much we can do." One of them said. At that moment, the CEO of Norfolk Southern, Robert B Claytor, walked into the building after taking a quick flight from Norfolk Virginia. He was the brother of the famous W. Graham Claytor, Jr., who was the CEO of Southern from 1967 to 1977 and has recently come out of retirement to run Amtrak, a company that basically holds a monopoly when it comes to the kind of passenger travel that is like that of the 40's and 50's. Any who, Robert chatted with several of the engineers about the situation and what to do. He was very hesitant to say "Let's bring him back into working order", he had already planned to restore two Norfolk and Western steamers for excursions. Finally, with a heavy heart, he turned to Hunter.

"Hunter, I don't know how else to say this, but we'll have to take you out of service." The room was silent, until Hunter couldn't let the words sink in any more, he just let it out. Nobody dared talk until he calmed down, and when he did, Claytor sat on his pilot and did his best to comfort him.

"I know it's not fair Hunter, but it's too expensive and nearly impossible now a'days to fix a firebox this severely damaged."

"What are you gonna do with me?" Hunter asked. He was hoping that he wouldn't be sent to a scrap yard, that would be the final insult to injury.

"Well we're not going to scrap you if that's what you're thinking." What a relief. "However, we can't just leave you here. There must be a place that can take care of you until it somehow become easier to fix you."

"Well, I think I know of one, if you would let me make a suggestion." Hunter replied weakly.

"Yes?"

"There's the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society in Indiana. They have already restored a Nickle Plate Road Berkshire, maybe they can fix me, or at least lease you their Berkshire until they can fix me." Hunter's spirits seemed to rise a little with this, of course he happened to know that Berkshire, it was Nicholas, the Nickle Plate Road number 765.

"You know what? That is a really good idea, why not give it a try?"

_Sodor:_

"So that's how Nicholas got involved with Norfolk Southern's excursions." Peter observed.

"Yup, and he did a fine job with that. Now I didn't get to meet him very often, for he spent most of his excursions up north while I stayed in Dixie." Casey replied.

"Tarnation, what happened to Hunter afterwards?" Daemon asked.

"Well, from what I hear, when Norfolk Southern ended the excursion era, the FWRHS moved somewhere else in Indiana and took both Nicholas and Hunter with 'em. They managed to have Hunter do'n push-pull excursions in '96 and even returned him to his C&O appearance, but in 2001 he ended up back in the Kentucky Railway Museum." Casey explained. "He's been on display ever since."

"Aw man, that's really sad." Hank sighed.

"It is, I've never seen a steam engine full of life during the excursion era or after it than Hunter in his short time with Southern, and to see him all broken up like that after a very short time, it was heart breaking. It's also eye open'n, it could happen to any one of us at any time." The other engines very quickly agreed.

* * *

**Nicholas belongs to metalheadrailfan along with Peter, Daemon belongs to darthmaul90**


	20. Chapter 20 Army Boys

**Army Boys:**

_Sodor, March 2015:_

Several days have passed since the night Casey has pulled his first NWR Southern Crescent Limited express and after that first run he's had little trouble getting started. He believed that the struggle was all mentality and he was proven to be right. However the weekend is now over and he's back to pulling freight and locals, he still didn't get a chance to tell Daemon about what happened in 1991, but Casey has made it a personal mission to accomplish. Early one morning in Tidmouth Sheds, Sir Topham Hat came to Jerry with an important assignment.

"Today, I need Casey to help Henry with a very important special, the British Royal Air Force is setting up a base at the Sodor Airport and they are sending lots and lots of AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters there with lots of fuel. Henry's going to need all the help he can get with this assignment so I will assign the job to Casey. If you guys need more help I've got Diesel on standby, he was the only engine available for that task."

"Alright, but I think it'd be best that I keep the Diesel part out of it when I tell Casey, he might try to push himself too hard to avoid it." Jerry replied.

"I understand, good day Jerry."

"Uh, Sir, may I tell you someth'n real quick?"

"Of course, what's on your mind?"

Casey snored very softly until a bright orange light shone right in his eyes, he groaned his eyes open to find Jerry walking up to him and Sir Topham Hat walking to his car. The crunching made by the foot steps woke a couple of the other engines, including Henry in a similar fashion.

"Why does morning have to come so quickly?" he asked.

"To ruin sleep for everybody, that's why." James retorted in a grumpy tone. The other engines that were awake laughed.

"You sure it ain't so that it'd be easier for you to find a girl James?" Casey laughed.

"Yeah, maybe you should start looking so that we can get more sleep in the morning." Henry added, causing more laughter around the shed as Brittney quickly ran in to help start Casey. Apparently, her alarm clock failed to go off and the only thing that woke her up was a phone call from some survey company ten minutes later. Talk about lucky, being saved by some of the most annoying people to give a phone call.

"Hey Henry." Jerry called.

"Yeah?"

"You and Casey are working together today to pick up a bunch of RAF choppers and fuel, we just have to wait for your crew to get here."

"Alright."

"So we're work'n for the bird brained military today huh? It reminds me of when Sarge first came to Chattanooga." Casey said.

"Sarge?" Percy asked, whom was sitting on the other side of Casey from Henry.

"Yeah, he was made for the U.S. Army and he served them until his retirement. He was originally donated to my museum in 1978, but he didn't run until 1990. Before that he never spoke or anything, heck we didn't even know he was there until he came out of the shop that particular morning.

_Chattanooga Tennessee, December 1990:_

Casey's 15-year regulatory rebuild has come to pass just two years ago, naturally he was disappointed at this news but was still happy that the railroads cared enough to make sure he was kept running in good condition. Of course now he sat in grand junction as a display while he waited for funding for his rebuild to arrive. In the meantime, the museum had been rebuilding an engine that had apparently been around since '78 but the others had no word or notice of him until today. Casey sat next to Kelly, a Central of Georgia 4-4-0 number 349 made by Baldwin's early incarnation: Burnham, Williams & Co in 1891. Kelly was a kind, grandmotherly figure who loved talking to the younger engines.

"You don't think this guy will act like a drill sergeant do you?" Casey asked.

"I do declare that I don't know young'n we'll just have to wait and see. Although I do have the feeling that he's probably moved on from the Army." At that moment, the sound of the dreaded Steam Boat whistle filled the air. Many engines hated using that whistle, they preferred the ones they had or the six chimer that Sarah usually used. Casey's whistle along with most of the parts that could be stolen were removed and placed in a protective safe to keep the ever so present thieves from taking them and trying to sell them on the black market. Around the curve came the engine in question, he was a black 2-8-0 with his Army lettering replace with "Tennessee Valley" yet his 610 number was still there. He seemed to be enjoying himself, humming Army's fight song as he rolled to a stop at the little crossing that led to the wye. He looked over at the other engines and smiled.

"Hello citizens, my real name is not important so you will address me as "Sarge", or "Sir"." He announced, just like a drill sergeant.

"What makes you think your real name ain't important?" Casey asked.

"**Because I said so Maggot!**" Sarge shouted in retaliation.

"Maggot!? Why you overgrown-paper burn'n-nut job! I aughta knock you out of your smoke box!" Casey snapped. One detail he forgot was that the line in front of him was clear for the moment, Sarge backed up furiously and got switched to Casey's line. After that he puffed right at Casey until he stopped to where the two engines could only look each other in the eyes. Casey's gold eyes stared right in Sarge's Army green, he could see someone who was simply confused.

"Are you a tender bumper?" Sarge asked loudly.

"What? **NO!**"

"That's really funny! I almost thought you were judging by the way you stare at that Sarah person!"

"Since when was that any of your business?"

"Since I first came here and saw you two! And if you're not a tender bumper then I'm going to ask, what is your malfunction Numnut!?"

"**Stop it!**" Kelly shouted louder than the pair of them combined, both of them silenced themselves to listen. "Good Lord, you two are like a pair of little kids fighting over a toy! Now Sarge, I must remind you that you are not in the Army anymore and this kind of behavior will not be tolerated at this museum, neither will you get involved in the romantic business of other engines unless you are asked first."

"Oh, yes, right, I apologize madam." Sarge quickly replied with a clear head.

"As for you Stewart, I'm ashamed of you, you know better than to get into an argument over piddly stuff like what he called you."

"Sorry Kelly."

"Now the two of you apologize to each other this instant before I get _really_ peeved at the two of you."

_Sodor:_

"Sheesh, I don't know who's scarier, Sarge or Kelly." Thomas shivered on his wheels at the thought of being yelled at by either of them.

"At least Kelly had a good reason, Sarge was just being a dick." James retorted.

"No, Sarge was just be'n a drill sergeant, he was built to train soldiers how to run steam locomotives in Europe. Only problem was that while he's a lot better now than what he was in the early days, he just kept forget'n that he's in a museum in Tennessee, not some army base in Virginia." Casey replied. By this time, Henry's crew had arrived and was updated to what the job was as they steamed the Black-Five engine up. When he was steaming, the question was raised as to who would lead the train of choppers to the airfield.

"Wanna play "Cocks-Pops-and-Whistles" for the lead?" Casey asked.

"Why not? But let's wait until we're actually there to pick it up, wouldn't want your demonic whistle to blow the roof off." Henry laughed. "Cocks-Pops-and-Whistles" is a steam locomotive version of "Rock-Paper-Scissors" using cylinder cocks, pop off valves, and whistles. Pops beat cocks, cocks beat whistles, and whistles beat pops.

"Did I ever tell you guys that y'all's whistles sound like die'n birds?" Casey asked as he pulled out of the shed.

"Yes, multiple times." The others laughed.

"I'll meet you at Vicarstown Henry, the fuel depot is on the way so I can get the chopper boys a drink on the way."

"Alright Casey, see you there."

Casey's trip the depot was a quiet and boring one, nobody was there to have a chat with except for a royal blue British Class 03 switcher diesel with a jackshaft under the cab who kept to herself as she shunted the tanker cars into place for Casey to pull. Such a shame really, she was cute enough for one of the tank engines and she did seem friendly enough to have a nice chat judging by the nice smile she had. Oh well, maybe she was just busy, and as soon as she was done, Casey had no time to stick around so he quickly pulled his load of 25 tank cars out of the depot and straight to Vicarstown. All the same, he kept thinking of the early days with Sarge and the others in the TVRM Like Herbert and Marley, a pair of GP7's that were donated to the museum in the late 90's from the U.S. Army. The museum has quite a lot of stuff the the military, it's kind of strange now that one thinks about it. And then there's Tim, poor guy, can't be easy being one of the last surviving equipment from the NC&StL, not to mention the fact that Cassidy was hitting on him constantly, not that it wasn't enjoyable to watch, it was quite comical. But thinking back with Sarge he couldn't help but laugh at all the arguing they got into, even when Casey's restoration went into full swing in '95. That was about when the Geep brothers came in.

-

_Chattanooga Tennessee, May 1995:_

Casey was elated, despite the end of the excursion era the previous year before, the popular local excursions, plus private funding from local citizens and even Norfolk Southern have earned him enough money to be restored into operation. Beth towed him into the East Chattanooga workshop where he saw a pair of GP7s painted in a strange livery: they had a reddish brown coat with a black top.

"Oh Beth! Check us out, don't we look great?" One of them asked excitedly.

"No, you both look terrible." Beth replied bluntly.

"Who are these guys?" Casey asked.

"Casey, this is Herbert and Marley the museum's new for hire diesels."

"Hello Casey." The Geeps said in unison, it was kind of creepy and their livery did indeed look bad, but they didn't seem to mind it.

"Uh, hi boys, how's it go'n?" Casey asked, he remembers all too well what replaced him and while he has accepted the diesel takeover, he still had a bit of hard feelings for GP7's, particularly because of Joe back in the early 50's.

"It's going great, pulling excursions will be much more fun than shunting freight cars full of explosives around the base we were at." Marley replied.

"**Keep it down, I'm trying to sleep!**" Came a loud and irritated voice.

"Oh come on Sarge, couldn't you just lighten up a little bit? They're just excited" Beth groaned as Casey rolled his eyes. Sarge was waiting around in a siding trying to get some sleep, not that the excitement was helping him do that.

"Just as soon as you idiot tender kissers shut up!" he replied.

"**Yes Sir!**" The Geeps shouted out and they instantly became silent. _Oh great, more excuses for Sarge to have his bad attitude and treat others like they're cadets. _Casey thought.


	21. Chapter 21: Dealing with Sarge

_Sodor, March 2015:_

Luckily for Casey, the tank cars weren't a problem for once today but he knew he had to be on his guard, once he attached them to the train of military choppers and double heads with Henry, that's when it becomes incredibly difficult and dangerous. Jerry looked to Brittney and grabbed the coal shovel from her.

"Why don't you take the controls for a while, it won't be too long before you'll be drive'n him for a live'n." He said kindly. Naturally Brittney was excited, however, some came across her mind, Jerry has had her driving Casey more and more as the year came into being, what was up with that? Maybe Jerry's just trying to give her experience for if she ever for whatever reason went back to the states. Not once did she consider Jerry's retirement as she quickly jumped onto the driver's seat and took the controls. Jerry laughed at her giddiness, so what if she was being a little self-centered at the moment, what young person wouldn't be when it came to driving a steam engine? However, despite his good health, his age was finally getting to him, he found the shoveling of coal to be very difficult and painful to his old back. Oh how he missed going to his chiropractor in Ft. Oglethorpe, a small town just south of Chattanooga in Georgia, the best one he's ever known, the doctor he sees on Sodor was nowhere close to even good and he charged twice as much, it made him feel older to the point where he felt like burning the guy's office to the ground and expose him as a fraud. Oh well, at least he could still do the job and Brittney was smart enough to listen to him about how to drive a steamer. Any who she carefully brought the train all the way to Vicarstown where Henry was waiting patiently. When the two engines came up, Casey blew his whistle but at the same time Henry blew steam out from his cylinder cocks, he hadn't forgotten the agreement they have made earlier today.

"D'oh! Dad gummit Henry, I wuddn't ready for it!" Casey shouted as the Black Five engine laughed.

"Now now Casey, you and I both know this is what we agreed to, so I'm going to lead for this journey."

"Fine, but move your train past the switch so that I can attach these here cars to your train will ya?"

"Of course." And so he did, and Casey was surprised at what he saw, twenty five flat cars with one AW101 chopper per car. Oddly enough, all of them were asleep but Casey knew all too well that this is indeed going to be a difficult job and they will be awake soon enough. After the trains were connected, it was fifty five cars long and Henry uncoupled from it to let Casey get himself positioned. Now because of the issue of time, they couldn't get him turned around so they two engines had to go tender to tender. That left Casey to look at one of the helicopters, he seemed to be the oldest, probably because he had a mustache. Casey decided to pay the fly boys no mind as Henry blew his whistle. Of course, that did little, all of the helicopters had awoken and began murmuring among each other, especially when they got a face full of exhausted steam from Casey's stack. Obviously the one with the mustache was the one to complain.

"Hey-ack, would you mind cutting cutting the smoke before you get your dirty railroad suit in out system?" He coughed.

"Can't make any promises son." Casey replied, slightly offended by the fly-boy's attitude. The choppers complained more as the engines gained speed to reach a steady pace of 50 miles per hour.

"You're moving too slow."

"Stop blowing smoke in my face."

"Go faster."

"I can't wait to get off this stupid flat car."

"These rails are too bumpy."

"Why couldn't we just fly over there?"

"Why is the RAF even sending us to this island anyway? it's took stuck in the past." Finally, Casey has had enough, when they got half way to the destination, a crossing came about, Henry tooted his whistle twice but he got the scare of his life when Casey gave his whistle a very long and loud blast. It scared the helicopters as well, they have never heard an American whistle before.

"**That's enough you goddamn bird brains! Just be glad we're trying our best to get you to your new home quickly and safely, and not drag'n y'all to a damn scrap yard!**" He shouted at the top of his voice. The choppers all silenced themselves and Henry regained his composure, he too was getting tired of the constant complaining, although he did think the scrapping part was a little uncalled for. However, he didn't want things to be silent, at least he could have a chat, it would help to pass the time, maybe he can talk to him about it afterwards.

"Say Casey, we all know you and Sarge din't quite get along at first, what made you two become friends now?" He asked.

"Years of arguing and living with him, most of it was while I was being brought back to working order. We did however have a few instances where we could have a decent conversation."

_Chattanooga Tennessee. March 20, 1993:_

The disaster caused by the Storm of '93 was finally over. While a few centimeters of snow still hung around in the early Saturday sun, the temperatures were climbing rapidly, much to the relief of the engines of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Unfortunately, the storm has come as a surprise to the citizens due to the reluctance of the weather broadcasters, believing the South would cool off so suddenly when the temperatures were steadily climbing the week before the storm formed, it left it's mark indeed and many business owners will probably consider taking winter storm precautions with their buildings in the future. Lots of damage was left behind by the storm and it even left a city record of twenty three inches of snow. It was miserable for everybody, especially the engines that didn't have good shelter in Grand Junction.

"How do them yankees do it Kelly?" Casey asked.

"I don't know, but that was much worse than the Great Blizzard of 1899." She replied, happy to find the cold was finally gone for the season. Over the next few hours, the crews, inspectors and such came to prepare the museum for the coming spring visitors and repair any damage the storm left behind. For the most part the buildings have remained intact, minus the sheet metal roof of the Soule shops falling down under the weight of the snow. _Well, at least the others won't get to brag about how warm they were during the storm._ Casey thought as one of the volunteers at the museum carefully lubricated everybody's parts. Oddly enough, it was Jerry, but now he was in his late forties and now he was often the man who drove the locomotives all the time.

"So how did that there storm treat you old friend?" He asked.

"Like the F-units and Geep's after the war." Casey replied sarcastically.

"That bad huh? Well at least the Geeps have learn some'n over the years or at least the survive'n ones." As if on cue, Beth rolled in, towing Sarge to the wye to be inspected easier than the East Chattanooga wing. He seemed to be enjoying himself, despite the fact that he still had a lot of un-melted snow on him.

"What's got you all high and mighty? You just sat through the worst snow storm in history." Casey asked. Sarge's expression momentarily changed from happy to slightly irritated.

"If ya must know Green Horn, I was just enjoying this wonderful sunlight, it's melting the snow off."

"Got stuck in the shade?" Sarge was slightly hesitant to answer, he knew Casey had heard of what happened to the roof of the shed, maybe he could try to be pleasant for once and see what happens.

"Well, given the circumstances...yes I did."

"Well that explains why the snow's still on you, but it beats have'n to sit out here and endure it." Sarge was caught off guard, he was expecting Casey to laugh or at the very least tell him he had no idea what cold feels like.

"How bad was it for you cade- I mean guys?"

"Like sit'n in a freezer in the arctic circle."

"Affirmative, that does seem pretty close to reality." The pair laughed at the joke as a relieved Beth continued her way of placing Sarge near the wye.

Another few years have passed, the two engines while they still didn't like each other were growing more and more civil with one another as Sarge got better and better at remembering that he wasn't in the Army any more. Often they would just chat about the weather or what goes on in the outside world, especially when Casey was brought in for his rebuild. He was so happy that he would steam again. The Geep boys however were more army pigeons than Sarge was, often times they would shout "yes sir" or "yes ma'am" when they were told to do something, but Casey had to give them credit, they had a lot of work ethic and they were proud to be doing the job they have been requested to do, even more so than the RSD girls. Over the time span of his restoration the museum has acquired more and more stuff, like a Southern E8A number 6914 named Larry that they plan to restore into working order. While she did spend a long time on lease to the museum, Norfolk Southern donated her to them. The museum had also acquired Lookout Mountain Incline Railway number 2. The museum even somehow got a hold of one of the RS-3's that were traded by Southern to get Cassidy and Mary back for excursions. But the one Casey really wanted to meet was Taylor, a Canadian National J-7-b 4-6-2 Pacific number 5288, he came to the museum via donation from Steamtown in Scranton Pennsylvania in '99. Now in 2001, he is steaming again as the museum was about to give Cassidy, who hadn't been running since 1989, a very extensive rebuild. Sarah, who had also been retired in '99 due to excessive maintenance costs, sat in the East Tennessee end of the museum next to her man in her original livery. All around them were a bunch of left over water jugs from the Y2K craze and happy faces of the other engines around. Sarge was given the day off and he was still sleeping oddly enough, usually he was the one that woke everybody up at four-o'clock in the morning, guess he wanted to get as much sleep as possible before the day started.

"Wake up Lazy Bones." Cassidy said to him.

"Huh? Oh, what do you want Cassidy?" Sarge groaned as he tried to go back to sleep.

"Aren't you forget'n what day today is?"

"No."

"Really? What day is it?"

"Friday?"

"No, well yes but today is the day Casey finally steams again."

"Oh yeah, well congratulations soldier, now if you don't mind, I'd like to use my day off."

"Come on Sargey, at least see him in his original black paint." Beth laughed, this is what got the the sleepy steamer, he hated being called "Sargey".

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that Cadet Bethany!?" He shouted in his typical Army tone.

"Take it easy Sarge, you ain't in the army anymore, remember?" Casey asked blankly.

"Of course I do Green..." Sarge changed his gaze to find Casey in his original black paint. "So is this what you looked like during the steam era?"

"Yup."

"Impressive, it really is."

"Thanks."

"Now let me go to sleep please."

"Oh no you don't Sarge, you keep waking us up at four in the morning, now it's our turn to keep _you_ up all morning." Sarah butt in, Sarge ignored her and tried to go back to sleep, only to find that every time he closed his eyes one of the diesels would toot their own horns or one of the steamers that could would ring their bells all the way until it was time for Casey to pull the first local excursion. Unfortunately, the museum decided to have his whistle replicated so he was stuck with the steam boat whistle, that dog gone too deep for trains whistle, oddly enough Sarge was the only one who was fine with it. Any who he was finally allowed to sleep when Casey pulled out of the shop.

_Sodor:_

Casey was relieved that this train was top priority today, normally the Salad Bowl Express would be on top. Maybe The Fat Controller was paid very handsomely by the RAF for this train. However, the Alco couldn't help but think about how he snapped at the choppers, maybe he was a little harsh to them, maybe he'll apologize to them once they stop at the airfield, provided they didn't try to complain again once they got there. At least they were making good time, nothing but green signals ahead as far as the eyes can see. Soon enough they came to the final twenty mile stretch, the two engines increased their speed slightly to make a mad dash for being early and thus easier for the other trains to get ahead of schedule. Henry hoped that the last story would be a short one.

"So you became more and more civil with Sarge over the years, what made you two finally become friends?" He asked.

"Some would say November of '91 was the start, but I'd say late October of '95 was when we really decided to just put our differences aside."

_Chattanooga, October 28, 1995:_

All the engines sat quietly in front of the television, it was game six of the 1995 world series between the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians. The Braves led the series 3-2 and led the game 1-0 as Braves closer Mark Wohlers came up the mound for the top of the ninth inning. The southern engines were shaking and praying for a win for Atlanta, while the Braves have been the world series a couple times before, something weird kept happening and both times they choked when it mattered most, losing the Twins in '91 and the Toronto Blue Jays of all teams in '92. But tonight, they have Cleveland right where they wanted 'em, but again Atlanta has collapsed in the past. Sarge looked over to Casey to find his teeth chattering and sweat beads all over his face.

"I know how you feel Casey, when I was in Virginia back in '66, the Orioles were facing the Dodgers, and then again in '83 they were facing the Phillies."

"One, Baltimore swept the Dodgers in '66, and two, thanks for beat'n them good for noth'n Phils."

"Anytime Casey, anytime." Moments later, the first out popped up over the short stop, the engines cheered.

"You know Sarge, I've been think'n." Casey started.

"Yeah."

"Well, we've been at each other for a while, and, well, maybe we've been at it for far too long." The second out for the game was made by a fly ball to center field, again the engines cheered, oddly enough it was quiet Milly who has been cheering the loudest the entire series.

"**Whooo! One more out baby, one more out!**" Sarge looked to Casey again.

"Please continue."

"Well, how about we just put the water under the bridge and start over?" At that moment, the final out was caught in center field, the Atlanta Braves has now officially become the only team in baseball to win a world series in three different cities. The engines cheered loudly, finally, the city of Atlanta has a championship and they were going to let everybody know it. But Sarge and Casey just looked at each other, Sarge could see the sincere smile that Casey gave and he too smiled slightly.

"I'd like that Casey, I really would."

_Sodor:_

"Sarge and I became very strong friends after that, we hit a few bumps of course, but we managed." Casey said, and when he completed his sentence the train has reached the airfield twenty minutes early. "Alright gentlemen, welcome to Sodor, we hope you enjoy your time here and sorry about that little outburst earlier."

"Oh no, we apologize for our behavior, we simply forgot our manners." The helicopter with the mustache replied, Henry smiled to himself, at least he didn't have to have a little conversation with the Alco about said outburst, for now at least.

"Alright chaps, we must be off, lots to do and little time to do it." Cranes came as the Henry uncoupled for Casey to take the cars to the yard, when they were emptied they were lights as feathers and with ease he took them away.


End file.
